Production for Avengers: Age of Ultron is in full swing, and so the men behind the film have plenty to talk about. At a recent, special Guardians of The Galaxy event where Marvel showed off 17 minutes of that film to members of the press, they also included a 2 minute behind-the-scenes featurette on the Avengers sequel. 

In that featurette, nothing was revealed about the film that we didn’t all ready know. But what was there were some choice comments from director Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige about one of the major set pieces in the film: Avengers Tower.

Feige’s comments on the tower:

“Last time we saw Stark Tower, from The Avengers, it had gotten beat up a little bit thanks to Hulk and thanks to Loki and the Chituari, and Pepper and Tony were standing over a table looking at plans” he explained. “That’s where we pulled out and all the letters had fallen away except the ‘A’ in Stark. So what they were doing was retro-fitting for The Avengers. And that’s what we see in this next film.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone – for people who are following along. S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded and brought down at the end of The Winter Soldier because it turned out to not be the best organisation ever. So Tony’s bank-rolling The Avengers now. And he’s bank-rolling their headquarters. So it’s now Avengers Tower.

“Tony designed it so in addition to a hanger for a brand-new Quinjet, laboratories, places where he can build and store his Iron Man suits, there are I believe two bars. Beautiful multiple space living rooms which are perfect for parties and social gatherings. But it’s a primary location in the film this time around.”

I get the feeling that this dynamic that sees Tony Stark becoming the financial backer for the team, and being responsible for their tech, could be a solution to the “recasting/rebooting Iron Man” situation. Assuming they really feel like they’re done with Iron Man solo films for a while, this sort of role could be something they could transition Stark into as Downey ages. And they wouldn’t have to pay him as much because his role would become more mentor-ish. He’d become the “Q” to the Avengers’ James Bond. Show up in a key sequence to crack wise, show off some new toys, then disappear. This is all just my personal speculation, of course. But it could make sense as a viable option. We all ready know that they intend to shuffle the roster of cinematic Avengers, with guys going in and out…

Anyway…now let’s get to Feige’s comments about the Hulkbuster suit that we saw some concept art for not too long ago:

Feige’s comments on the Hulkbuster sequence that Whedon cooked up:

“There are a lot of scenes that you should be getting excited about. That is certainly one of them. I think I said a long time ago when Joss [Whedon] first did his six-page or 10-page outline for Avengers, there was a lot of work and the movie’s adapted quite a bit since then, but there were like six or seven signature things just in that. I said ‘Joss, even if we don’t do anything else. Just do these seven things, that’s enough for the movie. Now let’s get to work and put it all together.’ Those things are in the movie and are amazing, of which that sequence is one.”

Also of note, from the featurette, is that there is an absolute globe-trotting element to Age of Ultron. The film’s plot is going to take the team from New York to Italy, the UK, South Africa, and possibly beyond. Exciting stuff.

Avengers: Age of Ultron will make its anticipated entry into theaters on May 1, 2015.

SOURCE: IGN