Designing The Helicarrier In Marvel’s Avengers Was An ‘Exhaustive Process’

Between November 2010 and August 2011, more than 75% of “The Avengers” was shot at Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico, the sprawling facility that is now owned by Netflix. The production occupied six of the eight sound stages at the studios, building practical elements of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier on several.

It was aboard the Helicarrier that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki delivered what might still be the rudest line in “Avengers” history. It was also where the superhero team first started working together to prevent the giant aircraft from falling out of the sky. In fact, it was the setting of a major set-piece in the film, that saw Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo)’s first transformation into The Hulk among his newfound superhero cohorts, after which he wreaked havoc aboard the ship, prompting Black Widow, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man to do their best to keep the thing afloat.

But the Helicarrier was also the setting for less ostentatious but similarly important moments in the film. We see the newly-formed superhero team bantering back and forth for the first time on the bridge of the S.H.I.E.L.D. ship, having been assembled by Nick Fury. These scenes, with a little help from writer/director Joss Whedon’s comedic sensibilities, helped establish what would become the group’s signature repartee.

In short, then, the Helicarrier was a key location in “The Avengers,” and therefore needed to look as impressive as possible from a production design standpoint. That meant that designing the aircraft was a particularly taxing process.