Avengers: Age of Ultron
In October 2011, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced that the studio was beginning to look at their Phase Two films. This phase would start with Iron Man 3 and culminate in a second Avengers film. By March 2012, Joss Whedon stated he wanted a sequel to be more small, personal, and painful. He insisted it should not just be a rehash of what worked the first time. The goal was originality within the story itself. At the premiere of The Avengers, Feige said the studio had an option for Whedon to return as director. In May 2012, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger announced a sequel was in development. Most cast members were under contract to appear in the sequel. Robert Downey Jr. was not, as his four-picture deal expired after Iron Man 3. At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, Whedon said he was undecided about directing. However, in August 2012, Iger announced that Whedon would return to write and direct the sequel. Later that month, Disney set a the 1st of May 2015 release date. Whedon said his return was not a tough decision but realized he desperately wanted to say more about these characters. They intended for production to not be as rushed as the first one. In December 2012, Whedon completed an outline for the film. In March 2013, he looked to The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather Part II as inspirations. Feige revealed Captain Marvel appeared in an early draft but was removed since she had not yet been cast. Whedon went so far as to shoot visual effects plates for her to fly into Avengers Headquarters at the end of the film. Those shots were reused for Scarlet Witch instead. An early draft also had Hulk's Quinjet detected near Saturn. It was finally decided to keep it Earth-based to dispel rumors of a Planet Hulk adaptation. Marvel later adapted Planet Hulk for Thor: Ragnarok in 2017. By April 2013, filming was scheduled to begin in early 2014 at Shepperton Studios in England. Whedon mentioned writing with Downey in mind and included a brother-sister act from the comics. He confirmed this referred to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Their powers are very visually interesting. Problems on the first film involved strong powers like superspeed and telekinesis. These would help keep it fresh. Whedon stated the twins allowed him to add more conflict. They dislike the United States and the Avengers. The Avengers are like a world power. Not everybody is on board with them coming in. Because Marvel shared rights to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch with 20th Century Fox, Whedon introduced two important characters completely on his terms. This connected their origin stories to the universe he created. He avoided the concept of mutants. Feige explained Iron Man is technology-based while Thor is fantasy-based. Ultron clearly comes out of technology using tools established in the franchise. The title Age of Ultron came as a surprise to many fans expecting Thanos. Whedon said Thanos was never meant to be the next villain. He is always been the overlord of villainy and darkness. Casting continued into August 2013 with James Spader playing Ultron. In November, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were confirmed for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver respectively. By the end of the year, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Cobie Smulders returned. Don Cheadle committed to a part in the film. Thomas Kretschmann was cast as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Claudia Kim was cast in an unspecified role. Paul Bettany was cast as the Vision.
In Sokovia, the Avengers raid a Hydra facility commanded by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. They are attacked by two test subjects: twins given superhuman abilities. Pietro moves at superspeed while Wanda uses telepathy and telekinesis. Stark and Banner discover an artificial intelligence within the scepter's gem. They secretly use it to complete Stark's global defense program. The unexpectedly sentient Ultron eliminates Stark's AI J.A.R.V.I.S. and attacks the Avengers at their headquarters. Escaping with the scepter, Ultron builds an army of robot drones. He kills Strucker and recruits the Maximoffs. They hold Stark responsible for their parents' deaths caused by his company's weapons. The trio goes to Johannesburg to get vibranium from arms dealer Ulysses Klaue. The Avengers attack them there but are subdued by haunting visions created by Wanda. Banner turns into the Hulk and rampages through Johannesburg until Stark stops him with anti-Hulk armor. A worldwide backlash sends the team into hiding at Barton's farmhouse. Thor departs to consult Dr. Erik Selvig on the apocalyptic future he saw in his hallucination. Nick Fury arrives and encourages the team to form a plan. In Seoul, Ultron enslaves Helen Cho. She uses synthetic-tissue technology, vibranium, and the scepter's gem to craft a new body. As Ultron uploads himself into it, Wanda reads his mind and discovers his plan for human extinction. The Maximoffs turn against Ultron. Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton fight Ultron and retrieve the synthetic body. Ultron captures Romanoff. Stark and Banner upload J.A.R.V.I.S., who has been secretly active inside the Internet, into the synthetic body. The Avengers fight among themselves over the decision until Thor returns and helps activate the body. He explains that the scepter's gem is part of his vision related to the six Infinity Stones. The new being gets the name Vision. He earns their trust by lifting Thor's hammer Mjölnir. Vision and the Maximoffs go with the Avengers to Sokovia. Ultron has used remaining vibranium to build a machine to lift the capital city into the sky. He intends to crash it into the ground to cause global extinction. Banner rescues Romanoff who awakens the Hulk for the battle. Pietro dies when he shields Barton from gunfire. A vengeful Wanda abandons her post to destroy Ultron's primary body. This allows one of his drones to activate the machine causing the city to plummet. Stark and Thor overload the machine and shatter the landmass. The Hulk departs in a Quinjet unwilling to endanger Romanoff. Vision confronts and destroys Ultron's last remaining drone. After establishing a new base, Thor returns to Asgard. Stark leaves while Barton retires. Rogers and Romanoff prepare to train Rhodes, Vision, Sam Wilson, and Wanda as new Avengers. In a mid-credits scene, Thanos dons what appears to be a gauntlet and vows to retrieve the Infinity Stones himself.
Filming began on Tuesday the 11th of February 2014 in Johannesburg South Africa having been postponed that Monday. Second unit crews shot action sequences without the main cast to be used as background plates for scenes featuring the Hulk. They worked in the Central Business District of Johannesburg for two weeks. By mid-March principal photography had begun at Shepperton Studios near London. It was scheduled to film there for at least four months under the working title After Party. Production designer Charles Wood built an enormous new Avengers Tower set. It was one of the largest sets ever built for a Marvel film. The set featured multiple connected environments and levels. On March 22 production moved to Fort Bard Italy and continued in the Aosta Valley region through March 28. The region doubled as the fictional Eastern European nation of Sokovia. Crews replaced local storefronts with Cyrillic script. Filming in South Korea began on March 30 on the Mapo Bridge and continued through April 14. Various locations in Seoul were used such as Cheongdam Bridge Digital Media City Gangnam Boulevard and road near Kaywon University of Art Design in Uiwang. While in Seoul the production attached cameras to drones and race cars to get unique angles. An artificial island on the Han River known as Saebit Dungdungseom served as headquarters for an IT institute. Scenes involving Ultron's attack on parts of the city were shot in the Gangnam District. In April shooting began in Hawley Woods in Hampshire England. Hayley Atwell filmed scenes inside the Rivoli Ballroom in London while extras performed the Lindy Hop. That June scenes were shot at the University of East Anglia in Norwich and at Dover Castle in Kent. Dover Castle was used for interior shots of Strucker's Hydra base in Sokovia. The next month filming took place at a training facility for London's Metropolitan Police Service which doubled as a city in Sokovia. Additional filming took place in Chittagong Bangladesh including the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard and in the state of New York. On August 6 Whedon announced on Twitter that he had completed principal photography. Disney spent $330.6 million from February 2013 to November 2014 but $50.7 million was offset by payments from the UK tax authority. A report indicated a gross budget of $444 million with a net of $365 million. This makes the film one of the most expensive films ever made. Cinematographer Ben Davis shot the film with three Arri Alexa cameras. He said although the Alexa was Marvel's preferred camera they weren't locked into that choice from the start. What wasn't negotiable was the fact that they were shooting digital. Davis also used Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Cameras to meet second unit needs. These smaller cameras are less expensive and rugged enough to handle various trials. About the camera system Whedon stated this film was shot very differently from the first one using many long lenses. He aimed to shoot almost like a documentary. To create scenes depicting how Quicksilver views the world scenes were shot with an ultra-high-speed camera. They were later combined with shots of Taylor-Johnson moving through the same scene at normal speed.
In June 2014 the IMAX Corporation announced that the IMAX release would be converted to IMAX 3D. Following completion of principal photography several more cast members were revealed including Stellan Skarsgård Anthony Mackie Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston. However Hiddleston's scenes did not make the theatrical cut. Whedon said what was shot didn't play and he did not want the film to feel overstuffed. In test screenings audiences had overemphasized Loki's role so they thought because he was in it he was controlling Ultron. This imbalanced people's expectations. Whedon later explained Elba and Atwell appear because of exploring the psyches of the Avengers from Scarlet Witch's power. In December 2014 Kim's role was revealed as Dr. Helen Cho. Additional scenes were scheduled to be filmed in January 2015 at Pinewood Studios. In February 2015 Marvel confirmed Serkis portrays Ulysses Klaue. In early April Linda Cardellini and Julie Delpy were confirmed to be part of the film. At the same time Whedon stated the film would not contain a post-credits scene which had become customary for MCU films. He tried to come up with one but felt he could not top the Shawarma scene in The Avengers. Feige clarified there will be a tag shortly after credits start but no post-credit scene. In May 2015 Whedon revealed conflict with Marvel executives and editors about certain scenes. Executives were not thrilled with scenes at Hawkeye's farm or dream sequences the Avengers experience because of Scarlet Witch. Whedon had originally shot a much longer scene with Thor and Selvig in the cave. The final version is shorter as test audiences did not respond well to the original cut. In that scene Thor would be possessed by a Norn goddess of destiny while Selvig would quiz her about Thor's hallucination. Additionally Whedon reiterated he wanted to include Captain Marvel and Spider-Man at the end. Deals for each character were not completed in time for their inclusion. The film contains 3,000 visual effects shots completed by ten different studios including Industrial Light Magic Trixter Double Negative Animal Logic Framestore Lola VFX Territory Perception Method Studios Luma Pictures and The Third Floor. ILM opened a facility in London citing Age of Ultron as catalyst for expansion. They developed a new motion capture system called Muse which can better capture an actor's performance. Ruffalo called it more of a collaboration since technology is advancing. Face capture and motion capture can now be put together allowing performers more latitude. Visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend said the team considered depicting Hulk when manipulated by Wanda Maximoff as grey skinned with red eyes. They eventually decided against it as they did not want to confuse audiences who might associate it with Joe Fixit the grey Hulk from comics. Method Studios created interior of new Avengers training facility by digitally designing it extracting characters from original set and placing them into CG environment. Method also contributed to Iron Man's new Mark 45 suit and played key role creating Scarlet Witch's CG mind control effect. Most computer screens in Stark's lab Cho's laboratory Quinjet and other locations were actually working screens on set adding realism and saving post-production budget. London-based Territory Studio delivered screen visuals filled with unique imagery matching character using them. Perception worked on main-on-end and main titles. Before settling on marble monument depiction they created three other versions based on Ultron's hive mind ability renderings of power and pure energy inspired by classic comic panels and classic moments for each character. Final design was inspired by war monuments such as Iwo Jima memorial. For main titles Marvel wanted typeface to be direct continuation of first film. Perception made typeface marble texture mimicking main-on-end titles and changed title rotation before Age of Ultron overtakes Avengers in vibranium texture.
At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con Whedon introduced a teaser trailer including look at an Ultron helmet and title treatment. Footage of teaser and brief interview with Whedon were available as part of Iron Man 3 second screen companion app for Blu-ray release the 24th of September 2013. On the 18th of March 2014 ABC aired one-hour television special titled Marvel Studios Assembling a Universe. It included sneak peek of Age of Ultron debuting concept art for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch plus art of Hulk fighting Hulkbuster Iron Man suit. Harley-Davidson partnered with Marvel to provide their first electric motorcycle Project LiveWire for use by Black Widow. Audi provided several vehicles for Age of Ultron and commercials promoting these vehicles. At 2014 San Diego Comic-Con cast was introduced along with screening footage from film. Age of Ultron received second most social media mentions following Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice but had higher intend-to-see response. First trailer scheduled to premiere during episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the 28th of October 2014. However on October 22 trailer leaked online within few hours Marvel officially released it on YouTube. Entertainment Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter noted effective use of song I've Got No Strings from Pinocchio in trailer. Scott Mendelson of Forbes felt trailer borders on parody but said it is pretty spectacular piece of marketing elevating itself by music choices and James Spader's vocals as title villain. Trailer received 34.3 million global views in 24 hours 26.2 million from Marvel's YouTube channel breaking previous record held by Iron Man 3 with 23.14 million views. Original Avengers teaser received 20.4 million views in 24 hours after debut. In response Marvel agreed to air footage from Age of Ultron during episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. originally scheduled to premiere trailer. At end of October Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso stated there were comic tie-in plans for film. In November 2014 ABC aired another one-hour television special titled Marvel 75 Years From Pulp to Pop featuring behind scenes footage of Age of Ultron. Also in November extended trailer debuted on Samsung Mobile YouTube channel featuring product placement for various Samsung devices. In December additional behind scenes footage released as special feature on Guardians of Galaxy Blu-ray highlighting filming locations. That same month ABC announced episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would tie-in to events of film. Episodes The Frenemy of My Enemy and The Dirty Half Dozen feature Easter eggs plot threads and other connective tissue leading into opening scene of Age of Ultron while Scars explores aftermath. In January 2015 featurette focusing on Ultron shown at Samsung Night With Marvel event at 2015 Consumer Electronics Show CES. At CES Samsung revealed selection of hardware inspired by Avengers films plus simulation of Avengers Tower via Gear VR virtual reality device. Second trailer premiered on ESPN the 12th of January 2015 during broadcast of 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship. Mendelson enjoyed trailer but wished it did not reveal as many story elements as it did. He added marketing thus far has been far superior to much of what sold The Avengers three years ago both in terms specific footage and artistic choices being made. On the 3rd of February 2015 Marvel stealth released one-shot digital-only tie-in comic Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude, This Scepter'd Isle written by Will Corona Pilgrim illustrated by Wellinton Alves. It reveals how Strucker came into possession of Loki's scepter and origin of Maximoff twins abilities. End of month film official poster revealed. Graeme McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter criticized lack of originality calling it pretty much poster for first Avengers except with added flying robots background. Fact incorporated many same tropes other MCU Phase Two film posters did including heroes staring off camera destruction in background something occurring in sky poor Photoshop highlighting actors obviously photographed separately composited together. Mendelson agreed with many observations calling poster hilariously photoshopped. Final trailer unlocked by fans the 4th of March 2015 via hashtags on Twitter ahead of broadcast debut during series premiere American Crime March 5. Mendelson felt this fine final trailer teasing what we already know hinting scale few new action beats without telling us much we don't already know. A week after final trailer debuted Marvel revealed trailer smashed records with over 35 million views. In April cast presented Downey MTV Generation Award at 2015 MTV Movie Awards debuting exclusive clip from film. April 27 Downey and Renner along executives from Marvel Entertainment rang opening bell New York Stock Exchange celebration theatrical release. Disney spent total $26.9 million television advertisements from estimated total marketing budget $180 million. In January 2015 Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment Traveller's Tales announced Lego video game adaptation first film and Age of Ultron for release late 2015 variety consoles. March 2015 Disney said planned broaden merchandising strategy expanding target demographics to women fans individual superheroes make up Avengers. Paul Gitter senior vice president Marvel licensing Disney Consumer Products said for first film primarily focused Avengers property group shots. Now broadening line scope create skews focus team individuals characters. Disney Consumer Products partnered Hasbro Lego Hot Wheels Funko action figures playsets toys Under Armour apparel. Disney established new partnerships food packaged-goods categories including Sage Fruit ConAgra Crunchpak Chobani. Walt Disney India consumer products partnered 50 brands promote film highest ever any film Hollywood or Bollywood released India previous record held Ra.One 2011 had 25 partners. Some brands include Amazon India toy retailer Hamleys India online fashion store Myntra Hero Cycles Mountain Dew Liberty Shoes Tupperware Subway restaurants among others. Virtual pinball table based film released April 2015 Zen Studios.
Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $459 million United States Canada and $943.8 million other territories worldwide total $1.403 billion becoming fifth-highest-grossing film time fourth-highest-grossing film 2015. Worldwide opening $392.5 million seventh-largest ever. Film set worldwide IMAX opening-weekend record $25.2 million previously held Dark Knight Rises 2012 broke fastest movie make over $40 million IMAX theaters doing so 12 days. Analysts said opening weekend box office lower expected because weekend featured boxing match Floyd Mayweather Jr Manny Pacquiao. Deadline Hollywood calculated net profit $382.32 million accounting production budgets marketing talent participations other costs. Box office grosses home media revenues placed it fourth list 2015 Most Valuable Blockbusters. the 15th of May 2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron became twenty-first film cinematic history third Marvel Studios film eighth distributed Disney cross $1 billion threshold box office. United States Canada earned $84.46 million opening day marking biggest opening day superhero film second-biggest opening second-biggest single-day gross behind Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2 2011 $91.7 million. Friday gross included $27.6 million Thursday night beginning 7 p.m. sixth-highest ever Thursday preview earnings highest among Marvel films. Totalled $191.3 million opening weekend third-highest gross behind Jurassic World 2015 $208.8 million The Avengers $207.4 million. Saw second-highest IMAX opening weekend total $18 million behind Dark Knight Rises record $13.5 million premium large format theaters highest share first weekend May accounting 85% top twelve box office total earnings previously held Spider-Man 3 2007. Of those attendance first weekend 59% male 41% female 59% over age 25. Second weekend fell 59% earning $77.7 million second-biggest second weekend gross behind The Avengers $103 million both surpassed month later Jurassic Worlds $106.6 million. Holds record second-biggest loss between first and second weekends $113.6 million only behind Deathly Hallows Part 2s $121 million loss between first and second weekends 2011. Became third-highest-grossing film 2015. Other territories earned $200.2 million first weekend from 44 countries opening first all which 44% above predecessor's opening. Additionally saw largest non-China international IMAX opening $10.4 million. Top earning countries South Korea $28.2 million United Kingdom $27.3 million Russia $16.2 million. Broke records many countries including opening-day records Mexico $6.8 million Philippines $1.6 million Indonesia $900,000. Opening-weekend records Mexico $25.5 million Russia CIS $16.2 million Hong Kong $6.4 million Philippines $7.7 million highest opening weekend superhero film United Kingdom $27.3 million Germany $9.3 million Sweden Norway Netherlands. In United Kingdom where Age of Ultron filmed earned $5.4 million opening day $27.3 million during weekend setting opening-weekend record superhero film Marvel biggest Britain biggest April eighth-biggest debut. Set best single-day earning Disney superhero film $9.4 million haul Saturday. South Korea also where part film shot earned $4.9 million opening day $28.2 through weekend held record advance-ticket sales rate accounting 96% tickets reserved breaking Transformers Dark Moons 2011 record 94.6% 2011 widest release ever across 1,826 screens breaking Dark Moons 1,420 screens fastest imported film surpass one million admissions doing so two days topped box office three consecutive weekends biggest Disney/Marvel release second-biggest Western film country. Chinese opening scored biggest weekday opening day biggest Disney/Marvel opening $33.9 million second-biggest six-day start $156.3 million behind Furious 7 2015 which $17.5 million came IMAX theaters biggest ever. Opened number one Japan early July 2015 $6.5 million highest opening weekend MCU release ninth-highest-grossing film fourth-highest-grossing film 2015 largest markets China $240.1 million United Kingdom $75.5 million South Korea $72.3 million. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported approval rating average score based reviews. Website critical consensus reads Exuberant eye-popping Avengers: Age of Ultron serves overstuffed mostly satisfying sequel reuniting predecessor unwieldy cast few new additions worthy foe. Metacritic weighted average assigned film score 66 out 100 based 49 critics indicating generally favorable reviews. Audiences polled CinemaScore gave film average grade A A+ to F scale PostTrak gave film 90% overall positive score 79% recommend. Todd McCarthy The Hollywood Reporter said succeeds top priority creating worthy opponent superheroes giving latter few new things do action scenes don't always measure up. Scott Foundas Variety wrote If this apotheosis branded big-studio entertainment look like 2015 we could be doing much worse Unlike title character Age of Ultron most definitely has soul. Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times gave three-and-a-half four stars Some day Avengers film might collapse weight own awesomeness mean how many times save world But not that day. Peter Travers Rolling Stone wrote Age of Ultron whole summer fireworks packed one movie Doesn't just go 11 starts there Takes few wrong turns creating jumble when action gets too thick Recovers pro devising spectacle epic every sense word. Matt Zoller Seitz RogerEbert.com gave three four stars stating despite bigger louder more disjointed than predecessor also got more personality specifically Whedon's any other film now seven-year-old franchise. Helen O'Hara Empire praised interactions characters action set-pieces Whedon ability director stating redefines scale expect from our superheroes. Conversely Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times said Although movie effective moment to moment very little lingers mind afterward Ideal vehicle age immediate sensation instant gratification disappears without trace almost soon consumed. Scott Mendelson Forbes said plays like obligation box checked list before all parties move onto things really want do. Manohla Dargis New York Times wrote This Avengers doesn't always pop way first sometimes partly because villain isn't memorable despite Mr Spader silky threat. Camilla Long Sunday Times remarked Two hours boredom boobs add sorry basis new Avengers. Much like release Guardians Galaxy received mixed reviews China due poor translations. Translations thought done Google Translate.
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Common questions
When was Avengers: Age of Ultron released?
Avengers: Age of Ultron became the twenty-first film in cinematic history to cross the $1 billion box office threshold on the 15th of May 2015. The film opened with an $84.46 million day in the United States and Canada marking it as the biggest opening day for a superhero film at that time.
Who directed Avengers: Age of Ultron and when did he return to the project?
Joss Whedon returned to write and direct the sequel after Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger announced his involvement in August 2012. He had been undecided about directing during the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con but committed to the role later that year to explore more depth about the characters.
Which actors were cast as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron?
Aaron Taylor-Johnson was confirmed for the role of Quicksilver while Elizabeth Olsen was cast as Scarlet Witch in November 2013. These two characters were introduced by Whedon to add conflict and visual interest since Marvel shared rights to them with 20th Century Fox.
Where did principal photography for Avengers: Age of Ultron take place?
Principal photography began on Tuesday the 11th of February 2014 in Johannesburg South Africa before moving to Shepperton Studios near London in March 2014. Filming also occurred in Fort Bard Italy Aosta Valley region Seoul South Korea Hampshire England Norwich Kent Chittagong Bangladesh and New York state.
How much money did Avengers: Age of Ultron make at the box office?
Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $943.8 million in other territories worldwide for a total global sum of $1.403 billion making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time upon release. The film earned $459 million in the United States and Canada alone during its theatrical run.