During the climactic encounter with James Spader’s Ultron, Quicksilver lays his life on the line in order to protect Hawkeye and a young, Sokovian boy. Here, Whedon discusses the fate of Aaron-Taylor Johnson’s blistering character, and how he handled the character’s death cinematically.
It felt very disingenuous for me, especially the second time around, to make what I refer to as ‘a war movie’ and say that there is no price and everybody walks away. In this movie, we’re saying, ‘Prove to me that you guys are heroes.’ And he’s the guy that does it. […]
I knew it would be resonant, and make everything else work better and matter more. The city in the air, that’s just an explosion – Wanda’s grief, that’s extraordinary. […]
However, much like Agent Coulson before him, there’s every chance that Quicksilver will make a triumphant return in future films – nobody really dies in comic book lore, after all – and Whedon is well aware that that decision is ultimately out of his control.
I said to Aaron, ‘The only way you’ll stay alive is if the Disney executives say, “Hey idiot, this is a franchise, and we need all these people and you’re not allowed to kill them off!”
We did actually shoot him in the last scene, in an outfit, with his sister. We also shot him, waking up, saying, ‘Ah, I didn’t really die from these 47 bullet wounds!’
Avengers: Age of Ultron is currently Hulk-smashing box office records left, right and center. For more on Whedon’s sequel, be sure to check out our in-depth review.