The first cut of Avengers: Age of Ultron was nearly 3.5 hours long

'Avengers' cast
(Image credit: Facebook.com/Avengers)

How do you squeeze nearly a dozen superheroes into a single coherent movie? By making it really, really long. In an interview with Vulture, Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon revealed that his original cut of the film was nearly three and a half hours long.

The process of cutting the Avengers sequel down to a relatively svelte 142 minutes was productive — and, in Whedon's eyes, good for the film, which he'd hoped would actually be shorter than the original. (It is, in fact, shorter by one minute.)

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.