Yesterday director Joss Whedon unveiled the new big bad for the Avengers movie series: Ultron, the terrifying, polymorphous robot created in the comics by Avenger Hank Pym, AKA Ant Man. And today, Whedon told io9 that this will be an Ultron whose origin story doesn't include Pym.
In an exclusive interview with io9, Whedon said you can absolutely have Ultron without Hank Pym. He said:
We don't have to have him. It works very simply — this is Marvel cinema, not Marvel comics. One thing [Marvel Studios head] Kevin Feige has a genius for is knowing what to hold onto and what to let go of. You can invoke the feeling you had and play with the characters you love and remain true to the needs of the film.
I asked how this will change Ultron's origin story, as a kind of offspring of the Avengers themselves. Whedon smiled and replied:
You'll have to wait and and see, but you don't need a Pym to create an Ultron.
This also frees up director Edgar Wright, who is working on the Ant Man movie, to truly own that character. You can read more of our interview with Whedon tomorrow!