How do you tell a story with so many strong willed superhero personalities all in one movie? Well, according to Joss Whedon, you tell the story through the perspective of one…and that’s Captain America.
In an interview with EW, Whedon explains:
“I set out with a very simple problem: There is no reason for these people to be in the same movie. So that’s what my movie has to be about. So much of the movie takes place from Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) perspective, since he’s the guy who just woke up and sees this weird ass world. Everyone else has been living in it. He’s the guy that feels that sense of loss.”
This does make sense as Steve Rogers is the one that seems displaced more than any of the others. If you recall, at the end of ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ after the credits, there was an end scene where Rogers wakes up and runs out into the street to find himself not in the 1940’s, but in present day Times Square. According to Whedon, this extra scene was added for a reason. It was to establish a foundation for the first look of the Avengers coming together.
The curiosity of watching the team through the eyes of a “stranger in a strange land” will enable audiences who aren’t too familiar with the standalone superhero movies to still be vested in ‘The Avengers.’ They will be able to relate to the fish out of water feeling that Rogers will be experiencing and he’s also a really good guy. Chris Evans says it best in an interview with GQ, when he says,
“I don’t think he’s the coolest guy — he’s far from it. He’s a straight- shooter. He’s probably pretty boring as far as a character goes, but I feel like he grounds things. When you have these giant personalities and egos, there needs to be someone who brings them back down and reminds that this is a team, not the individual show.”
For those who are fans of the other superheroes, this doesn’t mean that Captain America is going to be the star of the film. After all, that would be hard considering by the trailer alone, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) seemed to get all the good lines. Telling the story through Cap’s eyes will only help keep the film’s viewpoint in focus and that’s a good move on Whedon’s part. Don’t you think?