With the premier of ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ just around the corner, director Josh Whedon dishes out a few more spoilers in an apparent attempt to kick the hype up a notch. He described the film’s opening scene as a fierce battle set in a “really stunning“ location, and goes on to say the evil robot Ultron (voice of James Spader) will not be quite as omnipotent in the screen adaptation as he is in comic books.
International Business Times, quoting the director, revealed that the initial action will take place on or around a castle located atop a snow-covered mountain. The battle reportedly involves a significant number of soldiers wearing winter camouflage uniforms. It was not made clear, however, if those were SHIELD soldiers battling the army of yet another sinister overlord.
Whedon, admitted that his opening sequence can be likened to classic 007 films. The tried and tested James Bond formula always called for a lot of often unecessary violence taking place amid breath-taking scenery, right before the opening credits. Apparently, he thinks that what worked for Bond can work just as well for Banner and his super-powered comrades.
Meantime, Whedon also explained why it was necessary to tone-down Ultron’s powers in the movie, in a bid to “ground things a lot more.” He told Empire that an omnipotent Ultron would likely make chopped liver out of the Avengers. He goes on to say that having weaknesses will constrain the living robot to make alliances, and thus, making for a more interesting tale.
Mutant siblings Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quick Silver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) will reportedly provide Ultron with the extra muscle, and perhaps the occasional chit-chat that he craves. Ultron just needed someone to talk to, Whedon said in his Empire interview. The director teases audiences a bit more by saying that one of those weaknesses happens to be sensitivity to public opinion!
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