'Avengers 2: Age of Ultron' News: Joss Whedon to Kill Off Avenger? Who Could It Be?

Joss Whedon recently revealed that he was considering killing off one of the Avengers in the upcoming "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

During an interview with EW, the director noted, "I'm always joking about [death] EW.com... Um... maybe [killing off an Avenger is a possibility]? But I'd have to have a really good reason, a really great sequence for [Marvel executives] to go, 'We'll cut off a potential franchise, that's fine!' They know, as any good studio does, that without some stakes, some real danger, how involved can we get?"

He added, "We don't just rule it out across the board, but neither is the mission statement 'Who can we kill?' We try to build the story organically and go, 'How hard can we make it on these people?'"

Whedon has never shied away from killing off his major characters. In the first "Avengers" he had Agent Coulson meet his demise (of course he has been revived for the upcoming TV show "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.").

Killing off a franchise character may not necessarily be a difficult choice for Marvel executives as they will get a chance to see if Thor or Captain America can make box office improvements in coming months. "Thor: The Dark World" opens in November. The first film grossed $181 million and ranks fifth out of seven "Avengers" movies. Meanwhile, the first "Captain America" capped at $176 million domestically; its sequel is due next summer.

Another potential Avenger to kill could be Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. has expressed a desire to leave behind Tony Stark. While he is signed on for the upcoming "Avengers," it may be a great way to give the actor the exit he craves.

"The Avengers" made a whopping $623 million in its theatrical release. The film also grossed a record breaking $207.4 million its opening weekend and followed it up with an equally historic $103 million in its second weekend. Overall, the film grossed an astounding $1.5 billion worldwide; only "Avatar" ($2.5 billion) and "Titanic" ($2.1 billion) grossed more money worldwide at the box office during their respective theatrical runs.