'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Director Joss Whedon Talks Marvel Frustrations

It's been four years since Joss Whedon's Avengers first came out and became one of the most successful superhero films of all time, and while that movie was a lot of fun to make for the man who created Firefly, its sequel was anything but. In a recent appearance at the 2016 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, Whedon dishes on his frustrations with Age of Ultron -- and Marvel Studios.

Last year, when Age of Ultron came out and Whedon first voiced his concerns with the film and his ongoing relationship with Marvel, the filmmaker famously hinted his relationship with the studio hadn't been top notch for the making of the sequel.

"I was so beaten down by the process. Some of that was conflicting with Marvel, which is inevitable, but a lot of it was about my own work," Whedon said, according to Mashable. "I was also exhausted and then we went right away and did publicity, and I sort of created the narrative wherein I had not quite accomplished it and people just ran with that. So it became 'Well, it's OK -- it could be better, but it's not Joss' fault,' and I think that did a disservice to the movie and to the studio and to myself, ultimately."

Still, he was grateful to Marvel for having given him the opportunity to tap into the Avengers twice, though it doesn't seem like he'll be returning any time soon. Deadline reports that of the things Whedon and the studio clashed over were Marvel's insistence in keeping that confusing Thor cave scene and Whedon's own stand in keeping the scenes where Hawkeye visits his family.

During his time at Tribeca's Talks series, Whedon was joined by Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo, best known for his role as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Aside from telling the filmmaker that he'd been too hard on himself, Ruffalo also revealed he'd asked the asked Whedon to do "Avengers 3 and 4, Hulk 3, Thor 3 and Quasimodo," but the director refused to do it altogether.

The Avengers baton is now held by the Russo brothers, who are scheduled to write and direct the two-part Avengers: Infinity War. Still, Whedon continues his involvement with Marvel Studios with the ABC show Agents of SHIELD.