THE AVENGERS was released 13 years ago this week. The first movie...
All The Right Movies@ATRightMovies
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May 08, 2025
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THE AVENGERS was released 13 years ago this week. The first movie featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on-screen together, and one of the most successful films ever made, the making of story will have you heading for the nearest shawarma joint…
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The first serious talk of an Avengers movie preceded the MCU. In 2005, Marvel Studios and Paramount struck a deal to make a series of Marvel Comics-based movies, one of which was The Avengers. Zak Penn (co-screenwriter of two X-men films) was hired to write the script.
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With the MCU taking off post-Iron Man in 2008, Marvel put plans in for ‘MCU Phase 1’, culminating with an Avengers film. Emmy Award-winning writer Joss Whedon was brought in for redrafts but said he’d only take the job if he could rewrite the script from scratch.
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Work was also underway to find a director. At one point, Iron Man director Jon Favreau was attached, and Marvel held discussions with Joe Carnahan. Producer Kevin Feige though, liked Whedon’s vision for the project, and offered him the chance to direct as well as write.
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Most of the cast were already set. Robert Downey Jr had played Tony Stark/Iron Man in two standalone movies and signed on for the Avengers. Whenever Tony eats in the film, that wasn’t in the script, RDJ just brought his own snacks to the set.
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Chris Evans is back as Steve Rogers/Captain America, having played him the year before in Captain America: The First Avenger. Evans declined the role 3 times as he was worried about the effect on his private life, but Marvel were desperate to get him and kept asking.
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Chris Hemsworth had also played his character, Thor, in one standalone movie the year before. To maintain his Norse God physique, had to eat his "body weight in grams of protein” every day and had a diet consisting exclusively of chicken breasts, fish, steak, and eggs.
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Edward Norton played the Hulk in the 2008 movie, and Marvel wanted him to return as Bruce Banner for The Avengers. Negotiations broke down though, and Feige said "[we] need an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members."
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With the hunt on for a new Hulk, there were rumours that Joaquin Phoenix was offered the part but said no as he didn’t want a multi-film commitment. Instead, the role went to Mark Ruffalo, who had been strongly considered for the part in 2008.
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Ruffalo was friends with Norton and said "Ed has bequeathed this part to me, I look at it as my generation's Hamlet." Apparently Ruffalo felt insecure for the first few weeks of production, and Whedon and Downey Jr had to reassure him he was perfectly cast as Banner.
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Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow had made her MCU debut in Iron Man 2, played by Scarlett Johansson. The first person cast was Emily Blunt, but she had to pull out due to other commitments. Johansson then turned down a role in the Total Recall remake to play Nat.
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The final Avenger is Clint Barton/Hawkeye, who had a supporting role in Thor and was played by Jeremy Renner. In preparation for the role, Renner was reportedly trained by Olympic archers.
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Samuel L. Jackson returned as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury. Marvel Comics had done a 21st re-imagining of their major characters in 2000, and the new Fury had been based in appearance on Jackson. So, when it came to cast the character, SLJ was the obvious choice.
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Fury’s supporting S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent is Maria Hill. Morena Baccarin and Mary Elizabeth Winstead reportedly auditioned for the part but Alyson Hannigan (who worked with Whedon on Buffy The Vampire Slayer) recommended her How I Met Your Mother co-star Cobie Smulders.
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Whedon had seen Tom Hiddleston playing Cassio in a stage play of Othello, and was delighted to hear he had been cast as the villain, Loki, in Thor. That played a part in Whedon writing Loki as his villain, and Hiddleston came back for the part.
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Whedon wrote a tight script but encouraged his actors to ad-lib too. This led to lines from Downey Jr like “"Doth mother know you wear-eth her drapes?" (to Thor) and his "Let's just not come in tomorrow" line at the end of the film.
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When Downey Jr first read the script, he pushed Whedon to make Tony the lead, saying “I need to be in the opening sequence, Tony needs to drive this thing.” They tried it, but Downey Jr agreed that it didn’t work as well, saying “everybody is just an arm of the octopus."
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Whedon intended to exclude supporting characters from existing films "to separate the characters from their support to create the isolation needed for a team." Downey Jr though, insisted that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) be in the film as she represented Tony’s growth.
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Whedon’s first drafts of the script included Ant-Man and the Wasp, both of whom were founding Avengers members in the comics. He wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel as The Wasp but they were replaced by Black Widow and Hawkeye.
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It was also Whedon’s idea that there should be a larger supervillain pulling the strings from behind the scenes. He suggested the Mad Titan – Thanos – and he was added into the post-credits scene, and later became The Avengers’ main nemesis.
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Loki’s army who do battle with the Avengers are an alien race called the Chitauri. They were created by Marvel comics writer Mark Millar, who took the name from conspiracy theorist David Icke, who claims the Chitauri are aliens looking to dominate humanity.
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Experienced composer Alan Silvestri had scored Captain America: The First Avenger, and he was brought back for this film, making him the first composer to work on more than one film in the MCU. He created The Avengers theme, probably the MCU’s most iconic piece.
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Whedon had disliked Iron Man’s “Tinkerbell pose” (as he called it) in previous films when flying so asked the VFX teams to incorporate a jet pack onto the suit. This freed up Iron Man’s hands, leading to the cowboy-style poses we see at times.
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Whedon also tasked the Sound Editor, Chrisopher Boyes, with creating a new sound for the Hulk’s voice. He ended up combining the voices of Ruffalo, Lou Ferrigno (who played Hulk in the 70s TV show), himself, and “two people from New Zealand."
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Ruffalo was the third actor to recently play the Hulk after Norton and Eric Bana. Ruffalo was the first to perform on-set motion capture, meaning he plays both versions. The Hulk’s body was modelled on bodybuilder Steve Romm, while the face was modelled on Ruffalo.
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The Director of Photography was Seamus McGarvey, who wanted the film “to feel immersive, and did not want a comic book look that might distance an audience… and we chose angles that were dramatic, like low angles, for heroic imagery."
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This was the first MCU film Universe to be shot in a 1:85:1 aspect ratio rather than 2:35:1. McGarvey did this due to the differing heights of the main characters (the tallest being Hulk, the shortest Black Widow) to ensure they could all fit on the screen together.
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The opening scene where Dr Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) studies the Tesseract was filmed at Plum Brook Station, a NASA facility near Ohio. It has the largest vacuum chamber in the world and tested the Tesla Roadster to make sure it would travel safely into space.
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Whedon said he loved writing the ‘Avengers Assemble’ introductions, where the team are put together. He especially enjoyed writing the Black Widow sequence as he had studied Russian language and theatre. He said it was the only scene that never changed in newer drafts.
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The film originally opened and closed with Hill reporting to the World Security Council about The Avengers. Whedon changed it when he realised it was a different tone to the rest of the film. He said the council looked like "weather reporters” so they were re-shot.
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The early conversation between Loki and Thor on the mountain came from a request from Hemsworth to bring out the brother dynamic. Hiddleston asked Hemsworth to punch him for real during filming for a better effect, calling it “A terrible idea. I went down like a stone."
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During production, there were only a few times that the main cast were all on location together. When they were, Chris Evans would send a group text arranging a night out that just said “Assemble.” Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) called it the best message he ever received.
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Tony’s line aboard the Helicarrier - "That man is playing Galaga!" – was improvised by Downey Jr. Whedon liked it so much that he had an image of Galaga added onto the guy’s screen oin post-production.
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When Fury mentions The Wizard of Oz, Captain America exclaims “I understood that reference!” Evans was worried the line would make Cap seem stupid, but changed his mind when the line killed with test audiences.
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Also on the Helicarrier, Tony wears a Black Sabbath t-shirt. This was another referential nod - the classic rock band have a famous song called Iron Man, which includes the lyrics "I am Iron Man.”
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The Helicarrier sequences were filmed on separate sets. They shot for 3 weeks on the bridge set, then on a real desert runway for the tarmac scenes. Whedon complained the bridge set was very slippery and the desert was very hot.
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We see Coulson's collection of Captain America cards, one of which is a recreation of the famous first issue cover where Cap punches out Adolf Hitler. Whedon added Coulson’s obsession with collector cards as he is an avid collector himself.
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Coulson’s death scene caused pro0blems with the MPAA. Marvel wanted a PG-13 rating, but Loki’s staff bursting through Coulson’s chest led to an R-Rating. Instead, Whedon cut away from the shot and had a chilling sound effect added instead.
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Filming the fight scene between Black Widow and Hawkeye, Renner injured his neck. It happened on the set, not during filming and meant Johansson had to rearrange her schedule. Then, filming the final battle, Renner injured himself crashing through a window.
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There was a scene cut during the battle of New York where Captain America saves an old man and his grandchildren. The man, wearing a WWII lapel, recognises Cap and salutes him. The children ask "Do you know him?" and the man replies "we all know him."
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To create the moment that Hulk bashes Loki into the floor, Tom Hiddleston had a rope tied to his leg. When it was pulled, it created the effect of the CGI Hulk grabbing him. Whedon called this the “ragdoll sequence” ands said it was one of his favourites.
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In that scene, Hulk calls Loki a "Puny god". This is from the comics, where Hulk would often say “Puny humans". Also, Captain America giving the order "Hulk, smash" is a Hulk catchphrase from the comics.
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After Iron Man saves the day, the Hulk brings him round by roaring in his face. This was improvised on the set by Ruffalo in motion-capture, and Downey Jr responded to it.
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Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee gets his standard cameo appearance after the battle. He’s interviewed by a news reporter and says "Superheroes in New York? Give me a break!" and returns to a game of chess.
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Due to copyright issues, Marvel had to release the film in the UK under the name Avengers Assemble. There had been a 1998 film called The Avengers based on the iconic 1960s TV show. Warner Bros owned the name, and objected to Marvel using it.
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The movie was a huge success. Made with a production budget of $220m, it made $207.4m in North America over its opening weekend, setting a new record. It grossed $1.52 billion worldwide, making it the third-highest-grossing movie of all-time.
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Finally… The restaurant scene was filmed the day after the premiere, and Chris Evans had grown a beard for Snowpiercer. As such, he was given a prosthetic jaw. That’s why Cap sits with his hand over his face for the whole scene. Shawarma sales in the US rocketed.
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