With the Russo Brothers seemingly confirmed to direct “Avengers: The Infinity Wars,” and Joe Russo directing the second episode of “Agent Carter,” doesn’t it seem as if Marvel have found their post-Joss Whedon golden child/children? It’s unclear and unconfirmed if Whedon is moving on from the Marvel fold, he did sign a contract way back when to be a type of executive-producer guru, but as the studio finds filmmakers they love like the Russos and James Gunn, maybe this is an easier way for the filmmaker to pursue his own creative opportunities.
Whatever the case may be, a new trailer for Whedon’s “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” has arrived, it’s dark and evinces a somber tone similar to that of the first teaser. And fans flipped for the first trailer, but really, what is this film about other than the super heroes figuring out a way to “work together” to defeat Ultron, a technological enemy bent on human extinction. Isn’t that what the first film was about? The heroes trying to get past their differences and find a way to beat Loki and his alien army (which doesn’t look a lot different from Ultron’s robot army, to be frank)?
And given all the Marvel plot spoilers we already know, with “Captain America: Civil War,” which pits Iron Man against Captain America, ‘Ultron’ feels like more of a secondary episode that sows the seeds that move the Marvel characters into the next chapter rather than its own standalone movie (the ‘Avengers’ are rumored to be broken up and splintered at the end of the film hence new team members like Vision, Scarlett Witch and Ultron). Hey, I could be wrong, but so far it doesn’t sound like the most original story and as always, we’d be happy to be proven wrong (the first ‘Avengers’ movie was first rate entertainment).
“It’s our new Frankenstein myth,” Whedon told EW late last year about the movie’s themes of artificial intelligence gone bonkers. “We create something in our own image and the thing turns on us. It has that pain of ‘Well, why was I made? I want to kill Daddy.’” Maybe that’s enough?
“The Avengers: Age of Ultron” stars Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film assembles in theaters on May 1st. Watch the new trailer below.