Joss Whedon Reveals Why Certain Scenes Were Cut From MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS

Following on from his comments about The Avengers sequel and the planned S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series, Joss Whedon reveals why the alternate opening was cut and shares his thoughts on removing the "Man Out Of Time" sequence with Captain America.

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By Josh Wilding - 8/31/2012

Earlier this week, Marvel released a sneak peek at a gloomy alternative opening for Marvel's The Avengers, leading many fans to question why it didn't make the final cut. Even more confusing was why exactly the scene in which Steve Rogers discovers that the Howling Commandos are all dead and Peggy Carter is still alive was removed, especially as it showed exactly how out of place he is in the present day. Well, in a recent interview with Vulture, writer and director Joss Whedon shed some light on his decision to take these seemingly pivotal scenes out of the critically acclaimed superhero ensemble. To read what the director had to say about The Avengers sequel, his Marvel Studios deal, and the recently announced S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series, click HERE.

"One: The movie was three hours long. Two: Audiences didn't respond to it as well in the movie as I think they would as a DVD extra. Most of them didn't know who this character was or what the context was, and they were like, Uhhh, I don't know why I'm supposed to be personally involved in this character I don't know. The rollout to the Avengers getting to Loki was so gradual that people were getting restless. I thought Cobie nailed it, and the reason I thought it was necessary is because I was trying to make a war movie and I wanted to give context that something bad had happened in the past. In a war movie, you don't know who's going to live or die, but you do know that this war happened and that [the characters] are going to be in a dire circumstance, and I wanted to create that atmosphere."

"I was able to get what I needed without doing that. It was tough. I hated cutting it. I hated cutting the Captain America stuff with the waitress. At least I was able to call Ashley Johnson [who plays the waitress] and tell her that all her stuff was still in Much Ado About Nothing, since she had been cut out of Dollhouse, she had been cut out of The Avengers: "I swear you're still in the Shakespeare movie!" You know, those bits had seemed very personal to me, and part of doing Much Ado was that I could go back to The Avengers and say, "Oh, it's not about me. Even though its my film, it's about the Avengers. I am less important than the needs of the film."

Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures Marvel’s The Avengers--the super hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel super heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

STARRING:

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Ramanoff/Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Tom Hiddleston as Loki

RELEASE DATE: September 17th, 2012 (UK) September 25th, 2012 (US)

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53 Comments

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	Linta - 8/31/2012, 4:02 AM Login to report abuse i thought the prologue in the theatrical cut was great..............Whedon made a great CBM
	Smacker - 8/31/2012, 4:03 AM Login to report abuse Since when is a three hour epic a bad thing? I wish he kept the scenes in instead of worrying about how the "general audience" would feel about them.
	Grimfoe - 8/31/2012, 4:04 AM Login to report abuse I just hope they do an "extended cut" of the film on the dvd. I'd like to see all these scenes in their original context, not in 5 min snipets after I watch the film. Still, the BEST CBM to date, though. Great film.
	WallyWestNAM - 8/31/2012, 4:07 AM Login to report abuse Deleted scenes are my biggest pet peeve, because I know they have to cut for time but I was looking at deleted scenes from the avengers, thor, and iron man 2, and pretty much every scene showed us some much needed developement and strengthening of relationships to the main characters the supporting cast didn't really get. Don Cheadle's Rodey was very minimalized in Iron Man 2 but the deleted scenes with him really make us feel that despite the recast he is the same character we loved in the first movie. and in thor we got some more time with Odin and Friga, who had an almost non-existent role in the film. That whole sequence with Captain America in the Avengers was so perfect, so well done, I can't think of a good reason why they cut it. Three hours probably wouldn't have bothered anyone, its a great action epic.
	Maxi91291 - 8/31/2012, 4:11 AM Login to report abuse
	Valandil - 8/31/2012, 4:16 AM Login to report abuse The movie is great as it is. But some of the scenes about Cap should have been on it. Maybe not the entire thing, but a little bit just to show his pain and the adaptation. Now is a must on the Cap sequel.
	GUNSMITH - 8/31/2012, 4:18 AM Login to report abuse IT RAN WELL I THOUGHT, WE;LL SEE IN THE BLUERAY...
	Maxi91291 - 8/31/2012, 4:21 AM Login to report abuse grif
	TheGambitFreakIsBatmanOfCBM - 8/31/2012, 4:33 AM Login to report abuse DIRECTOR'S CUT, DIRECTOR'S CUT, DIRECTOR'S CUT!
	hellfire - 8/31/2012, 4:57 AM Login to report abuse It might have something to do with the thought that anything he wanted to do with cap to progress the character will be fully covered in Captain Bland: The Winter's Snoresfest
	megabatfan - 8/31/2012, 5:07 AM Login to report abuse @Maxi... Calvin (Calvin & Hobbes) grew up to be Captain America.... That's just awesome.
	95 - 8/31/2012, 5:17 AM Login to report abuse I remember walking out of the theater saying: "this film needs a director's cut." The Agent Hill bookends and Man Out Of Time stuff were beautifully emotional. But his reason here is totally understandable.
	GuardianAngel - 8/31/2012, 5:23 AM Login to report abuse Not the cut we deserve, but the cut we needed.
	KungFuKoala - 8/31/2012, 5:24 AM Login to report abuse @hellfire glad someone else share's my same concerns about Cap 2. Really, now we've had an Avengers movie, is there really any need (other than financial) to make more solo movies? Thor I get as there's so much to explore, but Captain America? He's a pretty boring character when on his own so I hope the first part of the movie shows him in full mission flow alongside SHIELD.
	deanwilkins - 8/31/2012, 5:30 AM Login to report abuse Definitely the best CBM to date. Cap is a close second for me. I loved the film.
	Destroyer7 - 8/31/2012, 5:34 AM Login to report abuse TDKR can make the $1B mark but no beat the AVENGERS
	phoenixphil - 8/31/2012, 5:35 AM Login to report abuse While I would have loved the full three hour 'war epic version' I think Joss made the right decision. I think the cuts helped the pace of the movie and made it more instantly digestible for the general public and critics. It's a shame that the Cap stuff wasnt included as I do feel that his humanity was slightly underserved. Although if I've learnt anything over the years it's that a film that makes that much money and that has that much unused footage will almost certainly have an extended version released one day.
	Maxi91291 - 8/31/2012, 5:37 AM Login to report abuse I hope I will get to live to see Phase 24
	teabag - 8/31/2012, 5:47 AM Login to report abuse It wasnt only Steve and Phil feeling the bromance we need boobs..STAT :P
	coolguy - 8/31/2012, 5:47 AM Login to report abuse Idk I loved the movie but I was definitely disappointed in certain parts. I wanted to see cap adjusting to his modern world and i was really bothered by banner on that motorcycle. Also I felt there should have been more of a link to the other avengers before coulson was killed. And was anybody else kinda creeped out by furys lie about the cap cards.
	hellfire - 8/31/2012, 5:55 AM Login to report abuse I know a lot of people enjoyed Cap but the film didn't work for me the only thing I thought were good were Steve before the change, red skull and Hugo's performance the rest just left me with an empty feeling. I really hope they improve Cap2. I'm looking forward to IM3 I just hope the studio don't f*ck about with it the way they did on IM2. I'd do have to say though I'm really looking forward to a new Hulk film with Ruffalo so I can put it side by side with Incredible and see who really gives a better performance. Don't get me wrong I thought Ruffalo was excellent as a version of Banner yet he wasn't carrying the film as Norton was.
	hellfire - 8/31/2012, 5:58 AM Login to report abuse Loving the last pic Tea, thats the way life should be.
	FrankieDedo - 8/31/2012, 5:59 AM Login to report abuse i think that the only worth scene was the one with cap in his house and the one with the waitress (just to explain why we see her all the time in the movie, and obviously because of stan) The other scenes are pretty annoying and not in line in the movie, i think it's better like that because the additional scenes would've broken the rhythm of the movie. And the alternative opening (and ending) wasn't "epic" like the one we saw, i think that joss whedon crafted the movie well, and i said it with a critical eye not a fanboy eye.
	kingkrikkit - 8/31/2012, 6:16 AM Login to report abuse One thing you have to realize is the Directors Cut of a film is the cut the director would have preferred, but had to cut. I guarantee that Joss had final of the Avengers, and HE chose not to put in those scenes, for the reasons he revealed here. He COULD put them in the Blu-Ray release, in context, as an ALternate Extended version, but the film we saw in theatres was his cut, it was the Directors Cut. A lot big name, in-deman Directors get final cut becuase the studios trust thier talent for releasing a quality film in thier vision.
	Gigacrusher45 - 8/31/2012, 6:16 AM Login to report abuse Who the F are these people who don't know who Captain America is.
	Maxi91291 - 8/31/2012, 6:20 AM Login to report abuse @Gigacrusher45
	Nilphoenix - 8/31/2012, 7:01 AM Login to report abuse I could deal with the Cap scene being a DVD extra. I think he made a phenomenal movie with great pacing for both us fanboys, and our friends/wives/girlfriends/partners who needed to lean over and ask, "Who was that purple guy," then endure our 10 minute long explanations. I have loved everything that Whedon does more than the last thing he's done, which is saying a lot since the Avengers came after Firefly!!! Excelsior, Mr. Whedon!
	AmericanPsychoWolf - 8/31/2012, 7:28 AM Login to report abuse So we're getting a Director's Cut or not?
	willyburz - 8/31/2012, 7:52 AM Login to report abuse I like alot of the deleted stuff, but understand the length and context of what the film was doing, didnt really vibe with keeping it in. In my opinion the movie is as good as it gets, which is just the greatest cbm of all time. Its not just the fact that he took all the characters and made it work...Joss made it work whether you saw any of the previous movies or not! Thats the perfection of it all...Amazing, just amazing. What he did wasnt just perfect, it made every single one of my family members, and friends go and see all the other previous movies if they hadnt seen them already. Think about that for a minute, and let it sink in. The Marvel movie universe couldnt be in better hands, and I hope and pray Joss finishes this trilogy.
	IgnurRant - 8/31/2012, 7:53 AM Login to report abuse It wasnt a war movie. That was my biggest problem.
	johnblake - 8/31/2012, 7:57 AM Login to report abuse @coolguy- yea i really wanted to see captain amreica adjust to the new world. it was all i really cared about. i think avengers shouldve Really been more of A First avenger sequel.
	TheHitchhikingGhost - 8/31/2012, 8:17 AM Login to report abuse There will be no director's cut because Whedon has stated the theatrical IS the director's cut. We can only hope for an "extended cut", which I can really see happening given the enormous popularity and financial viability of Avengers both theatrically and soon to be home media.
	Maxi91291 - 8/31/2012, 8:32 AM Login to report abuse I think Whedon is now sitting in his Cassa di Joss, drinking Chivas and watching the Avengers 5 hour directors cut while reading this thread and laughing like this
	lokibane2012 - 8/31/2012, 8:38 AM Login to report abuse @Smacker it is BECAUSE he made sure to accommodate a bit for general audiences not as familiar to MCU as us, that the avengers made one-and-a-half billion dollars. Be grateful. In the age of shitty films like Transformers & Alice in Wonderland making a billion dollars, Avengers set a great example.
	Maxi91291 - 8/31/2012, 8:39 AM Login to report abuse while caressing his cat
	hellfire - 8/31/2012, 8:51 AM Login to report abuse My god that so strange I was cravin pizza.
	jaewest215 - 8/31/2012, 9:12 AM Login to report abuse The movie is fine the way it is.
	CPBuff22 - 8/31/2012, 9:31 AM Login to report abuse I Love this quote... "Oh, it's not about me. Even though its my film, it's about the Avengers. I am less important than the needs of the film." Take note WB & Christopher Nolan. That is the right attitude to have.
	NickMoney - 8/31/2012, 10:41 AM Login to report abuse Thank god it wasn't 3 hours long and full unneeded dialog and side stories, I will do that at home when I have the time and get my money's worth on the Blu-ray but in a theater I begin to fade. The movie was paced perfectly and reached the maximum audience with maximum showtimes for a massive blockbuster so it was a good business decision.
	xXkryptoniteXx - 8/31/2012, 10:59 AM Login to report abuse Good now give me the directors cut on Blu ray, the one that I can choose to watch theatrical cut and the directors cut.
	Maximus101 - 8/31/2012, 11:03 AM Login to report abuse Ya I'm curious to see the deleted scenes when the blu ray is released. Makes sense that he cut some stuff out but it could have been a bit longer without hurting the movie.
	Oxbow - 8/31/2012, 11:21 AM Login to report abuse Just show the deleted scenes in context on the DVD and all is forgiven. Don't make us watch them after the movie. The scene with cap was one of the most powerful in any Cbm, but only if you had seen TFA. I can see why joss cut it. I appreciate his good judgement..it bodes well for phase 2, my friends
	willyburz - 8/31/2012, 11:48 AM Login to report abuse Why are people still buying dvd's?!?!?! Hd is the only way to go, and good lord do I get a chubby when Im running DTS Master HD 7.1 surround on Marvels films :-D
	niknik - 8/31/2012, 11:49 AM Login to report abuse My point exactly. If the director feels they need to be cut in the theatrical release, fine. But at least give US the choice to incorporate then into the film with the Blu-Ray release, not as snippits in a bonus features section. Is that too much to ask?
	kemuael - 8/31/2012, 12:36 PM Login to report abuse i understand whedon had to cut those scenes the general audience opinion does matter not everyone is comic fans.
	FoxForce5 - 8/31/2012, 12:56 PM Login to report abuse Would have been nice to get a longer cut for the rerelease, but hey, it's all good. I do understand the need to have the most audience friendly cut possible.
	FOOM - 8/31/2012, 12:58 PM Login to report abuse Looking forward to the eventual Blu Ray directors cut then.
	EarOne - 8/31/2012, 4:32 PM Login to report abuse the Cap scenes should have stayed IN the picture. the alt. opening w/ maria hill should stay on the CUTTING FLOOR.
	mgeoff88 - 8/31/2012, 4:40 PM Login to report abuse The only scene I think Joss Whedon should've left in is the Cap scene. That was great!
	Biff - 8/31/2012, 5:45 PM Login to report abuse OK, I've only seen the movie once. Maybe I missed it but did they ever explain how Thor got back to Earth when they had no way to teleport from Aasgard? Or was this another scene that was cut?
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