The Avengers

’The Avengers’ Cast Is ’Exact Crew’ I Wanted, Joss Whedon Says At Comic-Con

New castmembers Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo join the director and entire cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans at Marvel panel.

SAN DIEGO — The biggest story to come out of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con was undeniably Marvel’s announcement of "The Avengers" cast lineup. Fans were already overcome by news that fanboy favorite Joss Whedon would helm the film, but on Saturday, the Marvel Studios panel sent Con-goers into a frenzy, as the entire principal cast — Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner — waltzed out onstage to uproarious applause.

When MTV News caught up with Whedon, the man of the Con, at the Entertainment Weekly/ SyFy event Saturday night, the director said he was still amazed at the crew he’d assembled, and equally surprised that they all showed up to be part of the big reveal in San Diego.

Asked how he pulled it off, Whedon modestly took all of the credit.

"I did so much work, certainly nobody at Marvel had anything to do with it," he joked.

Whedon admitted that he advised Marvel not to make the announcement if they couldn’t coordinate everyone. "I even said, ’Don’t do it if we can’t make the deal with these actors.’ I desperately wanted this exact crew for the movie and we didn’t know until [Saturday] morning that it was going to happen, and that’s because of the extraordinarily hard work and trust from people who aren’t me."

Whedon added that being surrounded by his new cast was a little bit overwhelming, especially since that Marvel panel marked the first time all of the castmates had been assembled in one room.

"The energy is extraordinary," Whedon said of his actors. "This is an extremely collaborative, supportive intelligent cast; they’re very sweet. They’re not challenging each other, they’re there just enjoying each other and ready to get into it. And that’s an exciting atmosphere."