"Marvel's The Avengers"
is hitting screens everywhere in three weeks. This past Wednesday, the
film had its big Hollywood premiere, and after the screening Twitter
was ablaze with positive comments from
those who saw it. (Full disclosure: I was there and it is indeed
awesome.) But is the movie really finished, or are the Avengers
assembling one last time?
On Thursday the cast came together for a press conference in Beverly Hills, and Robert Downey Jr. let it slip that the superhero group might not be done saving the world. At the end of the event, Movieline reports
Downey stated, "Not to keep you guessing, but we're actually not done
shooting. We are shooting one more scene... tonight. Not kidding." He
followed it with a curt "No more questions!" and the panel ended.
Many of the gathered journalists assumed that Downey was joking.
Earlier in the press conference, after giving a heartfelt response
about working with his costars, Downey said, "That will be my last
sincere answer of the afternoon." But his claim was later backed up by
Mark Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner and his towering green alter ego The Hulk (via computer animation) in the film.
According to
Ruffalo said, "Yeah, yeah -- we're shooting a scene tonight... We don't
even really know what it is yet, but we're shooting a scene tonight."
He said that a costume was delivered to his hotel room, but he didn't
have any other details of what it is they would be doing.
While the studio has declined to officially comment on the matter,
the creative team behind the movie was quick to deny the actors'
statements. Film asked
Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige about Downey's claim, and he
responded, "Do you always trust everything Robert Downey Jr. tells
you?" The film's director, Joss Whedon, also rebuked Ruffalo's
statement that he had his movie costume: "Mark Ruffalo's costume is
made of CGI. Those guys are clowns."
It would certainly be odd to shoot an additional scene for a film
just weeks before it was scheduled to open, not to mention after it had
already premiered. But it's not out of the realm of possibility. One
challenge of filming "The Avengers"
is bringing the big cast of established stars together, but since they
are all in Los Angeles this week for the premiere and press junket,
that wouldn't be a factor. Plus, digital filmmaking does make quick
changes to movies possible. Last year's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" shot an alternate ending just four weeks before it hit theaters.
If a new scene is being filmed, it stands to reason that it would be
a brief scene after the credits like the one in the original "Iron Man"
that introduced Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. While it doesn't seem
likely we'll get official confirmation from Marvel that the extra scene
was in fact filmed, it's not a bad idea to stick around through the
credits just to be safe.
In the meantime, watch Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris
Hemsworth) take on an army of alien invaders in this exclusive fight
scene. "Marvel's The Avengers" opens May 4.