6 Things Joss Whedon Hated About The Avengers
4. The First Movie Had Only One Villain
Oddly, Whedon felt that the first movie was a little underpopulated. While he always felt Loki should be the mastermind, he worried that the film needed a second villain to balance the scales of power and make things a little tougher for the heroes, at least before the Chitauri showed up.
It was the one battle I lost completely. I definitely felt like I had Earths Mightiest Heroes. I have four of the biggest, baddest, toughest guys out there and I have one British character actor. And they believed very strongly they didnt want to add any more mythology. I wasnt gonna argue in the end. It was very difficult for me to make that work, but the ace in the hole was Tom Hiddleston because hes so compelling and commanding and gracious about it. It became how he got in their heads and its gonna be fine. It took me a long time to accept that because "They need someone to hit."
This seems like an argument in favor of studio interference, or at least a reminder that it's not always a bad thing. With no external threat, Whedon had to spend more time on the Avengers fighting each other, leading to exhilarating fight scenes and a more meaningful conclusion as the team finally comes together. With one fewer character, he got to spend that much more time on the others and Loki in particular. It's harder to side with Marvel in the next case.