For all the hustle and bustle surrounding the post-credits sting in a Marvel movie, many overlook the intricacy of, you know, the actual credits. From the blueprint schematic showcased at the tail-end of Jon Favreau’s original Iron Man to the stark, mondo-styled artwork that adorned the credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, there’s a staggering amount of work that goes into each and every detail, and that’s something Perception can attest to.
Brought in by Marvel Studios to work on Avengers: Age of Ultron, the motion graphics experts soon found themselves with additional cuts that ultimately weren’t used in the final version, and today they decided to show them to the world. In descending order, you’ll find the company’s descriptions of each animation, the design philosophy behind them, and how they frame Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the action.
1) Inspired by Ultron’s hive mind ability, which enables him to animate and control entire armies of robots simultaneously, this direction uses swarms to create and reveal imagery and character specific objects for each title card.
2) Bold icons encapsulate characters, locations, and plot points into simple and clever forms while rich environments give moody context to each symbol, suggesting endless layers of iconic moments.
3) Inspired by heroic war monuments and classical sculpture, this direction involves the crafting of a full Avengers sculpture that freezes their most epic face-offs within the monument of war.
Extra credits weren’t the only thing left on Marvel’s editing room floor, with Tom Hiddleston revealing earlier this week that he had previously filmed a scene as Loki for Thor’s dream sequence in Joss Whedon’s sequel, though it was ultimately cut as it didn’t play well with test audiences.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is available on Blu-ray now, and you can, ahem, marvel at Perception’s creative alternative credits down below.
