Director Joss Whedon Says ‘The Avengers’ Almost Featured Zooey Deschanel as The Wasp. Tara Bennett and Paul Terry’s new book, The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has given Marvel fans a deeper dive into the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and has been delightfully insightful! One of the most notable admissions comes from the Marvel team surrounding the writing and story behind the blockbuster phenomenon The Avengers (2012).
Related: Director Peyton Reed Shares Filming Has Begun for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’
In the new book, Director Joss Whedon spills that when potential scheduling conflicts arose and the studio was unsure if Scarlett Johannson would be able to reprise her role as Black Widow from Iron Man 2, Whedon came to the conclusion that IF Scar Jo couldn’t commit to the film they would introduce a new superhero, The Wasp.
Whedon went so far as to completely rewrite a script for the film and accidentally focused the entire storyline on The Wasp. “The Wasp happened because there was a short period where it looked like we weren’t going to be able to get Scarlett [due to scheduling conflicts], so I was panicking,” Whedon said in a statement for the book. “I thought, ‘Hold on, we could do The Wasp.’ Then I fell in love with that. But we did get Scarlett, and then I realized I had written this entire movie about The Wasp. Oops. I overcompensated there.”
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Producer Jeremy Latcham also shared that Whedon even had an actress in mind for the role, New Girl and Elf‘s Zooey Deschanel. Latcham shared, “It [The Avengers] was all about The Wasp. He wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel. [Wasp] was the funniest character in the whole movie, and well-written.”
Given the direction the studio went with Ant-Man by casting actor and comedian Paul Rudd, it’s rewarding to know that humor was always meant to be at the heart of the Ant-Man franchise! Despite having this rework ready to go, Whedon received the news that Scarlett Johannson would be returning to play Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow and quickly realized he had written the entire movie about The Wasp, so he had to rewrite the script yet again and The Wasp never made it into the final cut.
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Just as an author’s note: We love Evangeline Lily in the role of Hope Van Dyne / The Wasp and can’t wait to see more of her performance as the stories progress, but sometimes it’s fun to imagine “What If…?” (Pun intended)
Despite the changes made over the years would you still like to see Zooey Deschanel join the MCU? Which franchise could you see her joining? What upcoming MCU movies and shows are you the most excited for? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Be sure to check back here at Chip and Company for updates and all things Marvel!
Featured Photo Credit: Marvel Studios / 20th Television
Source: ComicBook
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