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‘Avengers’ stars open up on sequel

April 13, 2015

Some of the movie's most climactic scenes were filmed on the Mapo Bridge and Cheongdam Bridge of country's famed Gangnam district in Seoul, Korea.

Some of the movie’s most climactic scenes were filmed on the Mapo Bridge and Cheongdam Bridge of South Korea’s famed Gangnam district in Seoul. (Courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios)

By Brian Han

(BURBANK, Calif.) — The stars of Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” gathered together on Saturday to discuss the highly anticipated blockbuster before its May 1 release.

The first installment of “The Avengers” grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide and found success in South Korea as well where it made $50 million.

That’s part of the reason the film’s producers decided to shoot some of its most climactic scenes on the Mapo Bridge and Cheongdam Bridge of the country’s famed Gangnam district in Seoul.

“It does factor in somewhat when you see that the film resonates in certain parts of the world,” said President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige who is also one of the sequel’s producers. “It helps build excitement and anticipation.”

“South Korea is the perfect location for a movie of this magnitude because it features cutting-edge technology, beautiful landscapes and spectacular architecture,” he said.

Part of the film was shot on the Cheongdam Bridge (Courtesy of Park Hyung-yul via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Filming locations also included London, New York and Bangladesh so it’s safe to say that audiences will get a much more global experience this time around.

In addition to the already star-studded cast including Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Hemsworth just to name a few, James Spader and Paul Bettany will be featured as the voice of Ultron and as the powerful android Vision, respectively.

Each character is explored much more in-depth or as Jeremy Renner, who plays Hawkeye put it, “I have lines this time around.”

Director Joss Whedon spoke about the unique challenges involved when dealing with such a large cast that includes some of today’s biggest names in Hollywood.

“There’s like 47 of these people [referring to the actors] and I really didn’t think that through and I regret very much doing this at all,” Whedon said with a dose of sarcasm. “It’s just making sure everyone has their moments and it’s connected to the story. I love all these people… At some point in the editing process I could not have told you who they were, who I was, what movie I was making. I was so lost in it, but I think it all came together.”

“It’s incredible,” he said. “You look down the line and the table keeps getting bigger and bigger. It’s the greatest ensemble ever assembled in cinematic history.”

After Feige and Whedon fielded a handful of the initial questions, actor Robert Downey, Jr. came out swinging in typical Tony Stark-fashion.

“I must be mellowing with age, but I want to say this very clearly. The next time I’m not asked the first question I will walk the f*** out,” he said to the unsuspecting group of reporters who then erupted in laughter.

He went on to say that the script was the most polished he’d ever seen and called it “great” which both Feige and Downey admitted had never happened before.

With the compounded success of Marvel films, the studio seems intent on pushing themselves further for each new project.

“It’s daunting now, because the expectations before they didn’t really exist,” Feige said. “And now it’s crushingly overwhelming expectations, particularly with this movie.”

Despite the pressure, Marvel’s president is optimistic when looking towards the future and welcomes the challenge.