Kevin Feige disagreed with Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon’s preferred Ultron design so had to step in.
It feels like a thousand years ago that Avengers: Age of Ultron hit our screens but the film certainly had its memorable components, including its menacing villain Ultron.
The villain’s design is itself hard to forget but there were disagreements about how the character should look. According to concept artist Phil Saunders, director Joss Whedon wanted a more ‘grounded’ look for the machine but Marvel boss Kevin Feige had other ideas:
“Director Joss Whedon wanted more ‘grounded’ tech (read pistons and gears, etc.) than my earlier designs, so we ended up pursuing a direction that was frankly too ‘endoskeleton’ for my taste. Thankfully Keven Feige stepped in and steered us toward what made it to the screen, but for a while I got to paint some cool hardware!”
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James Spader’s performance as Ultron is certainly one of the most memorable parts of the second Avengers film and the villain was more than a match for our heroes. It’s interesting to think what the film would have been like with a more basic looking Ultron, however.
Avengers: Age of Ultron saw Joss Whedon directing a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Paul Bettany (JARVIS / The Vision), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), James Spader (Ultron), Stellen Skarsgard (Erik Selvig), Thomas Kretschmann (Baron Strucker), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Claudia Kim (Dr. Cho), Andy Serkis (Uylsses Klaw), Henry Goodman (Dr. List), Julie Delpy (Madame B) and Linda Cardellini (Laura Barton).
