Two of your favorite superheroes, Thor and The Hulk, are once again portrayed by acclaimed actors Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, respectively, in Marvel’s highly anticipated action-adventure “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Remaining where he was last seen at the end of “Thor: The Dark World” is the God of Thunder himself. Chris Hemsworth explains how his character has gotten more comfortable and accepting of his earthly surroundings.
“Thor has decided to stay on and so we see a more grounded, earthly version of Thor than we have in the past,” says Hemsworth. “It is nice because there are a few more opportunities to showcase some humor and see him in some casual gear instead of the red cape and armor that we always see him in. He’s a central part of the team now and there’s certainly a unity that they’ve all formed now as a group and are solid.”
The actor continues, “Thor sees the bigger picture of the current conflict that’s going on. There’s the initial battle, which they’re all involved in, but Thor uses his Asgardian knowledge and starts to tap into some otherworldly possibilities and threats that he thinks are coming.”
“Chris Hemsworth is Thor now,” states producer Kevin Feige. “He has done such an unbelievable job at embodying a character that in any other hands could be completely non-relatable and stand out like a sore thumb. Despite the red cape, a hammer and his Asgardian lingo, Chris has humanized the character. He’s such an integral part of the team, but at the same time, he is the lynchpin between Earth and everything else. He was our guide into the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe and in this film he continues to be the one who has a certain amount of knowledge that nobody else has because he grew up on the other side of the universe. He is aware of cosmic histories, legends and mythologies that nobody on Earth is aware of and is the portal to a much bigger, grander side of the Marvel Universe.”
A surprise for the filmmakers was the fans’ reaction and love affair with Bruce Banner aka The Hulk in Marvel’s “The Avengers.” Some of the biggest moments and laughs in the film were when the big green guy was in action. For actor Mark Ruffalo, it was an unexpected whirlwind of events. “I was completely caught off guard by how much people responded to Hulk and Banner,” says Ruffalo. “It’s a tough nut to crack and some really great people have had a chance at it, so I concluded at best I’ll stay with the group and I won’t embarrass myself and my fellow actors. So I just approached it like everything else and tried to come up with a game plan and stick to it and do the best I can and hope that somebody responds to it. I was thrilled to see the outcome and how the fans responded.”
“What director Joss Whedon really wanted to do with Banner was take away some of the self-loathing,” says Feige. “Mark is so endearing in real life and up on screen that was a new side that people hadn’t seen for a long time in a Bruce Banner and it continues in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron.’ He’s always been a nervous, brilliant scientist with this affliction of the Hulk. One of my favorite things about the first film with the relationship between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner is Joss made them science partners and the Internet and fandom embraced it. I love the notion that when people were talking about what they can’t wait to see in another Avengers movie it was ‘Stark and Banner doing science.’ That’s a testament to what Joss did in the first film.”
“Banner basically moved in with Tony Stark after he didn’t have anywhere to go at the end of the last Avengers,” explains Ruffalo. “He traveled around and he did his thing, but Stark took him in and there was a lot of mutually beneficial, qualities that they get from each other. One of them is their understanding of science, and what Banner’s specialty is has been really well augmented with what Tony’s been up to. Banner was also a renegade at one point and he was crazy enough as a scientist to actually try it on himself and I think he crumbled into himself from the bad experience of it. Tony did the same thing, but was a successful version of what Banner wanted to be. He did all this stuff to himself, but actually really benefitted from it. So I think in a weird way Banner has a tempering effect on Tony and conversely Tony has a livening affect on Banner.”
“Banner’s been on the run for so much of his life,” says Joss Whedon. “I love that tag at the end of ‘Iron Man 3’ where you see that they’re just hanging out. He’s not just part of a team, but a lot of Tony Stark’s research. When we designed the lab for Avengers Tower it was very important to say ‘This is Tony’s area, and this is Banner’s area.’ Banner’s area is very impressive, but Tony’s is bigger. Banner really has found a place where thanks to Natasha he’s been able to sort of control the Hulk. It’s the idea that when they’re in a situation where they need the big green guy he is there. And Mark Ruffalo also got what he so desperately wanted in the first film, a pair of Avengers-issued stretchy pants that Tony has made for him.”
Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in Philippine cinemas on April 22, 2015.