Although the script had long been completed, during the entire pre-production stage, Duke was still making some adjustments. After all, under his influence, the entire Marvel series had already undergone some changes, the most typical of which was Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.
Natasha Romanoff's role and her contribution to the Avengers organization had both been enhanced. Accordingly, in the finished version of The Avengers, her screen time would be among the most prominent.
However, the runtime set by Duke was only about 130 minutes. With Scarlett's scenes being heavy, it naturally meant others' screen time would be reduced.
Even as the director, Duke could reduce unnecessary disputes among the cast, but when it came to key issues related to personal interests, whether it was the actors themselves or their agents, they would undoubtedly strive for more.
Using reasonable and legal means to fight for what one deserves Duke, even as the director, had nothing to say against that.
Robert Downey Jr. had once approached Duke privately and said, "I've got to open the movie, Duke. Shouldn't Tony kick things off?"
Although he didn't say it outright, Robert Downey Jr.'s meaning was clear he wanted Duke to revise the film's opening scene in the script.
But Duke rejected it without hesitation. Still, he comforted Robert Downey Jr., "Iron Man will always be 'Iron Man.' He'll still be flirting around and stirring up trouble here and there. That's not going to change."
As long as the actors, like Robert Downey Jr., hinted at their intentions in ways Duke could accept, he didn't mind. Although he would never make changes because of it, he would at least show an open-minded attitude.
In Duke's plan, Iron Man was naturally the most central character in the film. Captain America and Black Widow came next. Thor and Hulk were mainly used for combat scenes, while Hawkeye was basically a background character.
Iron Man's scenes were easy to manage. Even if Duke wasn't skilled at writing comedic lines, there would be dedicated screenwriters to take care of that.
How to highlight Captain America and Black Widow's importance to the Avengers within the existing script was something Duke had been thinking about.
The character of Black Widow had already undergone significant changes compared to previous movies.
Unlike the earlier Marvel series, Captain America had provided a detailed account of Black Widow's origin and background.
Natasha Romanoff was born in 1928. After losing her parents in a fire, she was raised by a Soviet soldier.
At the age of two, she was selected by Soviet intelligence agencies. During World War II, she became part of the "Black Widow" program—a human modification project aimed at orphaned girls with development potential. The chosen orphans would undergo combat training and genetic enhancement at secret bases, making them appear younger than their actual age.
She used her identity as a ballet dancer to cover her true occupation. Under arrangements by the Soviet government, she even got married. Later, after her husband faked his death, a heartbroken Natasha had no choice but to return to the organization for further training. Eventually, she became the terrifying Black Widow.
To a certain extent, Duke was quite biased, but his favoritism toward Scarlett Johansson's character was nothing unusual.
In Duke's revisions, as a female superhero, the gender characteristics of "Black Widow" were greatly downplayed.
Although there would occasionally be scenes where she used her femininity to gain advantages at work, as a core member of the Avengers, her resolve and performance would overshadow her gender, making it hard for people to notice that she was the only female among the world's top male heroes.
This, in some way, represented a standard value of gender equality. She was never someone's accessory or defined by roles like "girlfriend."
Even when she was rescued, it was always out of mutual support between teammates rather than being a narrative tool.
Captain America could be said to be the central figure of Marvel's next phase. And in terms of popularity, Steve Rogers ranked second only to Tony Stark among the six. He wasn't just a key presence in the Avengers; he was the one who could unite the rest of the team.
More importantly, his popularity in the North American market was indisputable.
From the moment of his creation, Captain America had always been the undisputed symbol of American spirit justice, duty, morality, and a firm set of values and worldview.
But it was precisely this perfection that made Captain America incredibly lonely. His "divinity" was too strong, almost overshadowing his humanity. After waking up from 70 years of being frozen, he faced a completely changed world. That kind of loneliness and disorientation could shake anyone to their core.
Becoming withdrawn and afraid of social contact was a natural reaction after isolation. But Captain America would only struggle silently and calmly, trying to find his new sense of duty and belonging in this world.
His pain, like his loneliness, was quiet. It was the existence of the Avengers that gave him new life. After confusion and solitude, Captain America would rediscover his value, completing the journey from "superego" back to "ego." He wouldn't follow blindly, nor would he lose faith in others. His leadership qualities would be fully displayed in Duke's setup.
Compared to Captain America, the Hulk was also lonely. But instead of trying to integrate into society, he chose to stay away from it. His loneliness stemmed from an overgrown "id," and his own "superego" felt pain and conflict from its overwhelming dominance over that unruly "id," forming a highly contradictory and destructive Hulk.
Although Bruce Banner appeared as a gentle, scholarly doctor in daily life, inside he was always roaring as the angry Hulk. In this tug-of-war between rationality and instinct, the Hulk existed in a constant state of anger and pain. This misunderstood loneliness made it difficult for him to truly see himself as human. He was always wavering in self-identity, and his doubt and inner conflict made him even more dangerous.
However, Duke wouldn't focus too much on the Hulk. He was just the fist of the Avengers.
Time gradually moved forward to September 2011. Under the halo of the Oscars, Duke's previous film Gravity finally exited both the North American and global markets this month after a long theatrical run. During its nearly ten-month release, the film had both periods of skyrocketing box office numbers and times of dwindling attendance.
But the film's final box office numbers remained astonishing.
In the end, Gravity ended its theatrical run with $371.26 million in North America and $868.94 million worldwide.
Although the film's high production cost, promotional expenses, and Oscar campaigning efforts meant it barely broke even at the box office, achieving large-scale profits through merchandising and licensing wouldn't be difficult at all.
Compared to Gravity, which saw a massive surge in cost due to time constraints, The Avengers had a significantly lower total investment.
The final production budget for the film was set at $200 million. Aside from the terrifyingly high actor salaries, the largest portion still went to visual effects. Industrial Light & Magic, which became one of Duke's assets earlier that year, naturally took on the film's VFX production.
In addition to several VFX teams at its San Francisco headquarters, ILM's branches in India, London, and Singapore were also tasked with handling a significant portion of the film's rendering work.
During Duke's preparation phase, ILM had already begun modeling certain CGI shots for scenes that had been fully finalized.
For example, the all-CG environment shots involving the Helicarrier had already been placed on ILM's schedule early on.
To build these complex CG visual effects, they constructed many large-scale green screen layers to provide convenience for shot rendering and to increase flexibility.
Just the CG work involving the Helicarrier alone would include nearly 130 VFX shots.
These shots were divided into daytime and nighttime effects. Duke demanded that the final footage display two distinct visuals. One of the scenes involved the Helicarrier flying above the clouds, with its rear visible in the frame.
For this shot, ILM extended the structure of the ship and created many visual effects, including clouds, skyline, exterior hull, and hallways. These digital backgrounds were designed to be double-layered and fully visible.
The production was quite a challenge. ILM first followed Duke's instructions to build a massive Helicarrier, which had to appear completely different under daytime and nighttime conditions...
In mid-September, Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige gave an exclusive interview, during which he revealed the latest updates about the Avengers production team.
"Yes, The Avengers has started filming!"
Then, pointing at a giant poster of the Avengers hanging on his office wall, he told the reporter, "And let me say again, just look at these actors, look at these leads this is like a rock concert. It's just unbelievable."
Kevin Feige was very excited. "At San Diego, when they walked on stage together, seeing those charming actors standing side by side—if you didn't feel a chill down your spine, then you must not have a pulse. Basically, you might as well hop into a coffin and go back to your hometown."
"Now, Director Duke Rosenberg is leading the shoot on set. I've read his script it's amazing. I've seen the work that's coming next, I've seen all the designs, and then… they're just out of this world. The Avengers is going to be a supreme superhero film. I'm debating whether to say more, but we're very, very excited about it."
Just as Kevin Feige said, in the sound stages at Warner Bros. Studios, Duke had already raised the curtain on the filming.