According to Duke's plan, The Avengers would begin filming in either September or October, with the shooting period tentatively set for two and a half months. After Marvel Studios' initial funding of $60 million had been transferred, the crew's preparation work had already been proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Although the film's scale was extremely grand, the shooting itself was not. Nearly 90% of the scenes would be filmed on constructed sets inside Warner Studios' soundstages, meaning Duke would be using green screens on a large scale.
Except for a very small portion of scenes that required exterior shots, Duke would complete most of the film's production in Los Angeles.
However, he planned to split the crew into two units. Anna Prinz would lead a smaller team to shoot location footage in multiple cities, including Germany, New York, and Cleveland, to collect enough material for post-production composite shots.
As of today, The Avengers had been established for half a century, and the Marvel Comics company that grew alongside it now held over 70 years of historical depth.
This half-century had given comic writers enough time to mend and refine Marvel's vast and complex world-building. It had also allowed generations of creators to deeply explore their characters. Independent backgrounds and stories for each comic were no longer sufficient. In an era where everything demanded crossover appeal, The Avengers was bound to emerge.
Among them were grassroots heroes from ordinary backgrounds, artificial intelligence born from technological marvels, the most threatening alien lifeforms, and god-kings born with divine power.
Magic, technology, and superpowers had achieved a perfect balance through countless frictions and collaborations; a coexistence between humans, gods, and aliens was becoming more and more logical. Hollywood's production pipeline and current visual effects technology also made this franchise's cinematic adaptation more feasible than ever.
After the buildup from previous films, this franchise had already generated buzz and gathered a fan base. The sensory stimulation brought by the ensemble of superheroes was bound to multiply exponentially.
In Duke's eyes, this film could fulfill the dreams of audiences of all ages seeing their beloved heroes packed into a single frame, teaming up to fight monsters.
But getting these superheroes to team up smoothly wasn't easy. Let alone the challenges Duke faced during production external disturbances would always pop up.
In Hollywood, whenever a film becomes a big hit, all sorts of people show up to claim a share. James Cameron's Avatar, for example, had been accused of plagiarism almost as many times as its box office numbers were mentioned.
Some were driven by profit. Others were driven by competitors. This was already a chaotic and competitive industry. Using any tactics common in the business world wouldn't surprise anyone.
When Duke was preparing The Avengers, he encountered some trouble.
In mid-May, the descendants of renowned American comic artist Jack Kirby and their lawyers held a press conference, announcing they would file a lawsuit in Los Angeles court. They accused Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios, demanding an end to the copyrights of characters Jack Kirby had created. They called for a halt to the production and filming of The Avengers and a share of profits generated by related films.
This news was quickly picked up by the media and became a public sensation. Many outlets even published headlines like "The Avengers indefinitely postponed."
Jack Kirby was one of Marvel's founding figures and an important assistant to Stan Lee. He had participated in the creation of characters such as the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man,Thor he was one of the co-creators of The Avengers.
However, unlike Stan Lee, who was still alive, Jack Kirby had passed away back in 1994.
Undoubtedly, Stan Lee was publicly recognized as the father of Marvel superheroes. Based on his agreement with Marvel, he enjoyed a 5% profit share from all superheroes he helped create.
But in reality, Jack Kirby, despite being deceased, had had a far greater influence on Marvel than Stan Lee.
Jack Kirby's descendants sued Marvel, seeking to reclaim the rights to a series of comics created between 1958 and 1963. This would undoubtedly cause massive problems for Marvel's grand strategy.
Of course, Duke wasn't about to halt preparations or filming. After their press conference, he convened a meeting of his own.
Whether or not Kirby's descendants had been incited by someone else, they had a slim chance of winning this lawsuit because they weren't just facing Marvel Comics.
If their total of 45 copyright termination requests succeeded, it would lead to redistribution of rights and profits for characters like the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, and many more.
This didn't just concern Marvel and Warner Bros., but also involved Sony Columbia, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount, among others.
Unsurprisingly, after Duke brought up the issue, these companies immediately aligned and assembled a massive legal team, not only to defend against the lawsuit but also to countersue Jack Kirby's descendants.
Marvel claimed that Jack Kirby's work back then had been work-for-hire, and therefore all copyrights belonged to Marvel.
According to U.S. copyright law, if a publisher assigned a writer or artist to create a new character or story, or to draw content based on their existing characters, and paid them for that task, the publisher—not the creator—owned the copyright.
In Marvel Studios' media release, they confidently asserted, "All comics Jack Kirby contributed to Marvel fall under this category."
This would undoubtedly evolve into a long and arduous legal battle. Faced with such a powerful interest alliance, everyone knew Kirby's descendants had virtually no chance of winning.
"They're only doing this to make our lives harder."
Inside Warner's production studio, Tina Fey said to Scarlett Johansson, who had just walked in, "They want to increase our pressure. After all, if they lose the case, the entire project must be shut down. That kind of psychological suggestion affects the actors and everyone else involved."
Scarlett turned to Duke, "Darling, will this affect you?"
Currently on a break, Duke put down his coffee cup and shook his head. "If something like this could affect me, I wouldn't have made it this far."
On his journey, he had faced fierce competition countless times. His opponents had used both overt and covert means.
Hollywood was never going to let one force rise without resistance.
Not just himself—Duke had full faith in his team too. They, like him, had weathered countless storms. They weren't the kind of fools who came to Hollywood thinking it was some sort of sacred land.
"Scarlett, when you rehearse with the other actors…"
Compared to his team members, Duke still had some concerns about the actors. "You can also talk to them about this matter. No matter what, the production will not stop."
Those actors weren't rookies, nor were they fools. With just a little hint, they would naturally realize that Jack Kirby's descendants didn't stand a chance of winning.
Let alone the fact that back then it was indeed Marvel who authorized Jack Kirby to create the works even if they hadn't facing such a powerful coalition of interests, wanting to win the lawsuit was nothing but a fantasy.
This country indeed has a sound legal system, but only fools believe that the laws of America are fair and just.
"Mm…" Scarlett nodded. "I know what to do."
Tina Fey had been flipping through some documents. At this moment, she suddenly spoke. "Duke, there's something you should be aware of. David Ellison's Fast & Furious 5, in collaboration with Universal Pictures, is scheduled to release the weekend after ours."
"What's he trying to do again?" Scarlett stood up and walked over to Tina Fey, looking at the document together. "Does he naively think Fast & Furious 5 can beat The Avengers?"
"We can't take it lightly." Duke had never been the arrogant type. "The Fast & Furious series has already built up a huge fanbase. As long as the film and its marketing don't go wrong, it's definitely a formidable opponent."
"Whoa…"
Scarlett suddenly exclaimed, as if she had seen something strange, and then said, "There's actually someone you know in this cast."
Before Duke could respond, she continued, "They brought Mel Gibson back from Australia to play the main villain in the film."
"He actually came back." Duke lightly flicked his coffee cup. "Tina, have someone keep an eye on Mel Gibson and this production crew."
Tina Fey nodded.
Scarlett Johansson, however, was thinking of something more. "Could this lawsuit we're facing have something to do with David Ellison and his production?"
Duke gave a vague answer. "It's possible."
Just like he had said in the past, it didn't really matter who did it. What mattered was—who stood to gain the most from it? As long as you could see who the beneficiary was, you'd know where your enemy lay.
Seeing Tina Fey start making phone calls, Scarlett stepped away from her and came over to Duke's side. Resting her hand on the back of his chair, she said, "Shouldn't we be doing something? We can't just sit here and get hit, right?"
"Scarlett, you're worrying about too many things." Duke tapped her hand to remind her, "What you should be focused on right now is how to master your role."
"Alright, alright, I got it." Scarlett walked toward the seat opposite Duke, muttering as she went, "Black Widow always follows orders and exists in a gray zone. Even though she fights for justice, she has a dark past. But she still chooses to fight for what's right partly because she has no choice, and partly because deep down she has a strong sense of responsibility. She always speaks with her fists that's how she tells right from wrong."
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