A few days ago, some interesting quotes surfaced online from Joss Whedon. They were in reference to Avengers: Age of Ultron and Whedon’s frustrations with the film or, more specifically, his handling of his frustrations with the film as it related to the movie’s press tour. But those quotes came out of a much larger, much deeper talk between Whedon and his Avengers co-star Mark Ruffalo at the Tribeca Film Festival, and the full hourlong interview has been made available online for our viewing pleasure.
It’s really a delight to watch, as these two are clearly friends and not just co-workers. Moreover, the conversation gets quite candid about Whedon’s career and how much of himself he puts into his work. The talk revolves around Whedon, but the two also reminisce about their first meeting about Ruffalo possibly playing Hulk, and how they conceived of the iteration of the character that would make his debut in The Avengers.
And yes, the discussion also veers into Marvel territory, with Ruffalo saying he tried to convince Whedon to direct Avengers 3 and 4, Thor: Ragnarok, and Hulk 3. For now, it very much sounds like Whedon is done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and given the herculean effort involved with not only pulling off The Avengers but also the unfairly maligned Age of Ultron—which is delightfully strange and personal—it’s hard to blame the guy for not wanting to spend another 2-3 years of his live under such intense pressure. And while Ruffalo is due to co-star in Thor: Ragnarok and will no doubt be involved with Avengers: Infinity War 1 and 2, I do hope he and Whedon work together again soon because their rapport here is delightful.
The full interview is very much worth a watch, so check it out below courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival (via The Film Stage).
