'Avengers' director Whedon has his say

Interviews with Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon are delightful because, unlike most high-profile Hollywood types, he gives thoughtful, frank answers. Staying "on message" doesn't appear to be part of his plan.

Marvel executives might not be quite as excited about the honesty policy, though, especially after Whedon's Spoiler Podcast interview with Empire Magazine.

During the 30-minute chat, Whedon broke down just a few of the disagreements he had with Marvel over what Ultron scenes to use, including one moment that got "very unpleasant." It probably shouldn't come as a surprise, but the things Whedon wanted to keep and Marvel wanted to scrap were also the things that made the movie memorable and Whedon-esque. (Spoilers ahead.)

A scene in which the crew gathers at a farmhouse and a set of dream sequences where the audience is able to see inside the heads of the Avengers caused the most distress. "These were things I fought to keep," he said. And you can see why. Both give context and human dimension to the movie. The farmhouse scene informs viewers for the first time that Clint/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has a wife (Linda Cardellini) and children, and it's also a point when various characters share serious conversations. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up to give some words of wisdom, and Natasha/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) have a heart-to-heart about how neither can have kids.

The dream sequences, meanwhile, give us both a backstory and a better understanding of what's at stake for these characters. We see all Captain America (Chris Evans) gave up - the love of his life - to save the world, and Black Widow revisits the guilt and grief she feels over losing her childhood to become a trained killer. Without these scenes (plus one very funny hammer-lifting competition at a cocktail party) the movie would be, basically, just destruction and one-liners.

But if Marvel didn't want heart, why bother hiring Whedon at all? The man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. knows a thing or two about action, but his characters are more than muscles and quips. These are intensely human stories about people with superhuman abilities.

What's even more telling is what Marvel wanted to keep in, which was essentially a non sequitur during which Thor (Chris Hemsworth) ditches the team to meditate in a cave with Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård). The scene does more to lay the groundwork for the next Thor installment than it adds to this Avengers, but executives were adamant that the scene remain.

"With the cave, it turned into, they pointed a gun at the farm's head and said give us the cave or we'll take out the farm," Whedon said. "In a civilized way - I respect these guys, they're artists, but that's where it got really unpleasant."

It's no wonder that Whedon doesn't want to return for another Avengers installment. Even though Ultron had one of the biggest opening weekends of all time, Whedon seems to second-guess a lot of what's in the movie, kicking himself more than ever with this sequel.

Whedon hasn't yet disclosed what he plans to do for his next project, but we can all hope he returns to his roots, which is what he did after filming the first Avengers movie. (And his abrupt quitting of Twitter on Monday also suggests he may be turning away from the masses.)

During his break between filming and editing, Whedon gathered some of his closest friends - all tremendous actors - and made a beautiful, black-and-white version of Much Ado About Nothing. It was the antithesis of what Whedon had dealt with on Avengers - self-financed and shot at his home in just 12 days. "We kept very civilized hours, because our lighting package went behind the hills around 6:30," he joked at the time.

He didn't even know how the movie would find distribution, but it ultimately landed on the festival circuit, where it was picked up by Roadside Attractions and went on to make more than $4 million - a pittance compared with Ultron, but impressive for a no-budget Shakespearean home movie.

Whedon's filmography is made up of passion projects, and Avengers is no exception. He was a huge fan of the comic books before signing on to the first film. But at this point there are many directors who can take the helm of a superhero movie. Even with the humanizing touches he fought the studio so hard to keep, Ultron ended up being formulaic - entertaining, but hardly a revelation.

And that is why it's exciting that Whedon is passing the baton. Here is a talented writer-director who, left to his own devices, can create a universe from his own wild and wonderful thoughts. He doesn't need Marvel's imagination, or its rules.