Avengers Destroy Cleveland in New Set Photos; Chris Evans' New Costume Revealed
Posted 08.17.11 by Ryan
Through various "spy" photos, it's been pretty easy to track where Marvel's production of The Avengers has been shooting. In July, the movie shot in Pennsylvania and, earlier this month, photos revealed that writer-director Joss Whedon and his crew had built a a mock Navy flight deck at the DHL facility in Wilmington, Ohio, before switching to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Plum Brook near Sandusky, Ohio. The latest shooting location has been the easiest spot to find so far since the Avengers shoot is now destroying parts of downtown Cleveland.
The Plain Dealer reports that Marvel has transformed a portion of Cleveland's East Ninth Street to look like 42nd Street in New York City for what the was described as "some kind of battle." Photos revealed chunks of building debris covering several cars and putting up fake walls to look like destroyed buildings to go along with fake New York storefronts.
What villain is doing all the damage is unknown, though Tom Hiddleston is set to reprise his Loki role from Thor. Marvel president of production Kevin Feige recently told The Examiner that whomever the villain is, he/she is going to be "big."
I've never been shy of saying that there needs to be a big threat, and it is a very, very big event that requires all of The Avengers. It's big. IT IS BIG!
Another rumored villain for The Avengers is an alien race called the Skrulls, which would be brought to Earth by Loki. That would certainly fill Feige's "big" description. Comic Book Movie somewhat confirmed the alien presence, when an extra from the Avengers shoot wrote in to the site and explained that the "explosive" scenes shot involved the extras "running and screaming from the invasion of aliens or some force." The site also linked to a "spy" video from the shoot, which shows extras, dressed as civilians and police, racing from the explosions.
The Daily Mail also seemed to confirm the presence of aliens, revealing photos from the shoot (including ones of Chris Evans in streetclothes walking the "New York" streets) and explaining that onlookers were "treated to the surreal sight of actors running away from apparently nothing, which will be aliens in the film, after the technical wizards have had their fun."
Other set photos, this time from Medical Mutual of Ohio's Facebook page (via ScreenRant), have revealed two compelling pieces of evidence about a possible Skrull attack, with one photo depicting a crew member holding what looks like alien weaponry and another showing a crew member in a motion capture suit taking a break. This is far from confirmation of the Skrull rumor, but certainly makes it seem like a reality.
ComingSoon also revealed set photos, none of which revealed anything about the explosive shoot day. Instead, the photos offered looks at Captain America's (Evans) new Avengers costume, which will appear different from the one he wore in Captain America: The First Avenger. After hibernating for 70 years, Cap deserved a new look, and, thankfully for comic book fans, they can't be too disappointed with the faithful look of the costume (at least it wasn't CGI). The Facebook photos also revealed Evans, in costume, on top of a car with writer-director Joss Whedon nearby.
The Avengers doesn't open until May 4, 2012, but, so far, the Cleveland shoot is offering plenty of "sneak peeks" into the movie. Not on set were Evans' fellow Avengers cast members Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), and Samuel L. Jackson (S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury).