Idris Elba Reveals Marvel 'Torture', Confirms Avengers 2 Appearance

Idris Elba has revealed - rather unenthusiastically - that both he and Tom Hiddleston will reprise their Marvel roles in the upcoming ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron.’

This is the first confirmation that the Joss Whedon-directed sequel will feature Elba, who portrayed the Asgardian warrior Heimdall in the two ‘Thor’ movies, and Hiddleston, who starred in both those films and the first ‘Avengers’ as Thor’s devious brother Loki.

Elba revealed the news almost as a throwaway aside in an interview with The Telegraph, when the focus of the discussion was the actor’s other notable line of work as a DJ - which, it seems, his movie responsibilities can prove a strain on.

- Hiddleston’s Role in Infinity War
- Marvel Slate Up to 2019 Confirmed
- Age Of Ultron Set Visit

Revealing he had been on set this past week, Elba said, “I’m in ‘Avengers.’ And I’m doing a scene with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and they’re like, [whispers] – ‘Aren’t you [meant to be] in Ibiza?’

"That’s why I was p****** about my set yesterday. I really just wasn’t there. I was annoyed.”

Indeed, the interview overall does not paint the sunniest picture of Elba’s Marvel experience. While there are aspects of his career which he stresses are close to his heart - his music, and his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in 2013’s ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ - Elba gives the impression that he doesn’t hold his role in the MCU in such high regard, particularly as he discusses working on ‘Thor: the Dark World’ immediately after finishing ‘Long Walk to Freedom’.

"It was really weird. I’d just done eight months in South Africa. I came to England and the day I came back I had to do reshoots on Thor 2.”

“And in the actual scene my hair was different, my…I was like, ‘This is torture, man. I don’t want to do this.’ My agent said: ‘You have to, it’s part of the deal.’

“I’m actually falling down from a spaceship, so they had to put me in harness in this green-screen studio. And in between takes I was stuck there, fake hair stuck on to my head with glue, this f——— helmet, while they reset.

"And I’m thinking: ‘24 hours ago, I was Mandela’. When I walked into the set the extras called me Madiba. I was literally walking in this man’s boots. [Within] six months, the crew, we were all so in love with this film we had made. I was him. I was Mandela, practically.

“Then there I was, in this stupid harness, with this wig and this sword and these contact lenses. It ripped my heart out.”

Well - now we know we’ll be seeing Elba portray Heimdall at least once more. Whether Marvel choose to employ him again after these comments remains to be seen; we know how they tend not to tolerate those they don’t deem ‘team players’ (Edward Norton, Terence Howard etc…)

- Whedon on ‘Global’ Avengers Sequel
- Who Are The Inhumans?
- Age Of Ultron Mystery Woman Revealed

Picture Credit: Marvel, Pathé