Joss Whedon shares the amazing way “Angel” and “The Avengers” are connected
Joss Whedon is like a God to us self-proclaimed #geeks. Not only did he bring us the late ’90s feminist icon Buffy Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but he double-downed with the wonderful, heartfelt (and nonetheless spunky) characters of television shows Angel and Firefly. Plus he added much-needed heart to The Avengers film franchise. But we never realized just how inter-connected his writing process really was, until a recent panel at Comic-Con.
During Dark Horse Comics’ panel “Conversations with Joss Whedon,” one fan asked Whedon to name his favorite death scene. Admitting it was the death of Fred (Amy Acker) on Angel, Whedon revealed how the origins of the Avengers’ infamous post-credit sequence Shawarma-eating scene came from filming Fred’s particularly long, emotional death scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLshPiR0jyM?feature=oembed
“The scene itself was really exciting. I love Alexis [Denisof] and Amy [Acker]. They were just acting their hearts out,” Whedon shared. “At the end of that whole day was just them in her bedroom as she’s getting sicker and sicker, and finally dying in his arms.”
It seems that after a long day of filming that scene, the two actors and writer/director went out for a drink and ended up just sitting around a table quietly, exhausted after the day’s sad events.
“And that’s how I came up with the Avengers tag,” Whedon concluded.
Just rewatching that scene makes me want to drink. We’re so glad that some good—even levity—came from that tragic day! We love you, Fred!