Robert Downey Jr. jokes that if Christopher Nolan had directed The Avengers , 'we'd still be shooting it'
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Robert Downey Jr. thinks it would have taken Marvel's mightiest heroes a lot longer to assemble if the famously meticulous Christopher Nolan were the one calling the shots on the first Avengers movie.
In a joint interview for Wired, the erstwhile Iron Man and his Oppenheimer director were asked what 2012's The Avengers might've looked like had it been helmed by Nolan instead of Joss Whedon.
"Whoa, that is the multiverse conundrum," Nolan remarked. "Having worked with you on Oppenheimer, it'd probably be a lot — too much Tony Stark. You'd be running away with the movie a little bit."
"Like I didn't?" Downey interjected. Nolan laughed and then continued: "Even more. And not using CG — would you be prepared to get on one of those jetpacks, the ones they make for real?"
Cutting to the chase, Downey quipped, "If Christopher Nolan had directed The Avengers, we'd still be shooting it."
The superhero blockbuster marked the first time moviegoers got to see Downey's Iron Man, Chris Evans' Captain America, Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, and Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye unite on screen. Since defeating Tom Hiddleston's trickster god Loki and his Chitauri foot soldiers, the titular heroes have linked up for three more world-saving adventures: 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, and 2019's Avengers: Endgame.
Nolan, of course, is no stranger to massive comic book movies, having co-written and directed DC's Dark Knight trilogy, starring Christian Bale as the caped crusader.
Everett Collection; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Robert Downey Jr. in 'Avengers: Infinity War'; Christopher Nolan
Earlier in the Wired interview, Nolan explained why he abstains from using CGI in his films — which no doubt would've factored into a movie like Avengers, with its larger-than-life heroes and alien baddies.
"I find CGI, however versatile it is, it always tends to feel a little safe to me," the director said. "I think if you want something to have a bit of bite, you want the imagery to have a bit of threat, even if it's a miniature, even if it's something very fake, but something real on camera, I think it gives you a better result."
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