News: AVENGERS 2 to Shoot in Korea, Local Actress Cast as Villain

By Pierce Conran

Joss Whedon's blockbuster sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron is planning to shoot some sequences in and around Seoul later this year. When news surfaced and caught fire in Korea last week it seemed like it might have been a rumor as actor Mark Ruffalo denied the news on his twitter account and Disney reps in Korea followed suit. However, now a local actress has been cast in a villain role and Incheon City (a satellite of Seoul) has confirmed that it will be used as a location in the upcoming film.

40 hopefuls auditioned in Korea for the part of the villain, and the coveted role in the film went to actress Kim Soo-hyun (not to be confused with the hot young actor who appeared in Secretly Greatly). The actress previously appeared in local dramas such as Brain (2012) and last year's 7th Grade Civil Servant. Kim has experience handling action and is also fluent in English, which made her an ideal candidate for the part. In addition to Incheon, filming is set to take place in Seoul's Gangnam neighborhood. Aside from the US, the film is also set to shoot in Italy and the UK.

The only major Hollywood production to shoot in Korea before this was The Bourne Legacy (2012) but the short Seoul-based scenes of that film did not require director Tony Gilroy or any of the film's stars to come to Korea. For Avengers, Joss Whedon will be joined by stars Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson in the Korean capital. The film should make for a good platform for Korea to show off its advanced production skills on what may well become next year's biggest film. Given that the first Avengers and Iron Man 3 were the most well-attended foreign films in Korea during 2012 and 2013, a Seoul-set Avengers: Age of Ultron is likely to become a huge phenomenon in the country.


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