Joss Whedon is somewhat of a stickler for rules — as long as they’re his own. He had a sadistic rule when writing for Sarah Michelle Gellar on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” he had rules for the vampires, and he had a set of very strict guidelines for how the show should be made, which infamously led to what cast members have claimed was a toxic set on “Buffy.”
When it came to “The Avengers,” Whedon was seemingly intent on remaining just as fastidious about the production as he was with his TV show. Though he shares a writing credit with Zak Penn, Whedon maintains that he wrote the whole film himself. In fact, he told Thrillist: “I read [Penn’s script] one time, and I’ve never seen it since. I was like, ‘Nope. There’s nothing here.'” Penn himself confirmed as much to GQ, telling the outlet Whedon “wanted to do it his way.” It seems that desire to maintain control extended to breaking one very important rule, this one set by Samuel L. Jackson.
As reported at the time, more than 75% of “The Avengers” was shot at Albuquerque Studios, which is now owned by Netflix and has since housed such high-profile productions as “Breaking Bad” and “Logan.” “The Avengers” used six of the studio’s eight sound stages, and shot at the facility from November 2010 to August 2011, constructing some massive sets that included Tony Stark’s high-rise apartment and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. It was across this expansive set, which spanned two sound stages, that Samuel L. Jackson was supposed to do the one thing he’d told director Joss Whedon he didn’t want to do: run.