If you are among the many comic book movie fans, you might be aware of the fact that Zak Penn was once set to write the script for The Avengers. He also wrote The Incredible Hulk for Marvel Studios and was then tasked with writing The Avengers by Kevin Feige and his team at Marvel Studios. However, Joss Whedon crashed his party.
Fans were left disappointed when the news came out that Joss Whedon, who previously collaborated with Feige on X-Men, would be helming The Avengers project. Soon after his inclusion in the MCU, Whedon quickly chose to rewrite the film’s script and also wasn’t gracious in his comments about Penn’s work.
Joss Whedon Pushed The Writer Away From The Project
While Zak Penn’s career has been a mixed bag of success and failures, with projects such as Elektra and X-Men: The Last Stand, it’s imperative to understand his involvement in successful films like X2: X-Men United and Free Guy.
In the new book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, Penn talked about finding out that Joss Whedon has replaced him in The Avengers and opened up about his thoughts on the infamous director.
Penn said (via MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios):
“All the other directors we had been talking about, Joss wasn’t on the list. I heard he was going to rewrite the script himself. He didn’t even want to meet with me —which, by the way, I always call the writer I’m replacing. I feel like that’s courtesy.”
The departure from the MCU was particularly painful for the writer because he had known Whedon for a long time, as they were both Wesleyan alumni. Penn wrongfully thought the situation would be awkward for Whedon as well, and gave him a call.
Penn recalled:
“He said to me, ‘No, it’s not awkward for me. I’m rewriting you.’ It became pretty apparent that he had less than zero interest in, in any way, having me involved with the movie.”
Finally, the sole “Written by” credit went to Joss Whedon, even though both of them received a “Story by” credit, which wasn’t satisfactory for both of them.
Joss Whedon Even Frustrated The Avengers Cast
Jeremy Renner, known for his role as Hawkeye in the MCU, was also not happy with how his character was written for The Avengers. In the film, Renner’s character was mostly one of Loki’s hypnotized followers. Considering it was his first outing in the MCU, not being able to explore the character caused Jeremy Renner some frustration.
Renner told The Guardian:
“That was my first chance getting to play the character and I wasn’t really getting to play him at all. ‘Hi, my name’s Clint – bzzzzzzzzz. It was frustrating. I don’t even know at that point how the guy walks and talks, ’cos he got turned into this other dude. Joss [Whedon] was really apologetic. He had an impossible task trying to fit all those characters into one movie.”
Thankfully, things got better when he reprised the role, turning Hawkeye into a fan favorite. Renner was pleased that he got to explore the character more in the second installment.
