Happy 20th Anniversary to Angel! Most of the show’s cast is currently at New York Comic Con, appearing for the anniversary panel. James Marsters (Spike), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Amy Acker (Fred Burkle/Illyria), J. August Richards (Charles Gunn), and Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce) all spoke to Entertainment Weekly at the con, and revealed that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off actually inspired the famous shawarma post-credits scene in The Avengers. The cast shared that after filming “A Hole in the World,” the devastating episode where Fred dies and is taken over by the demon goddess Illyria, they went out for a drink with showrunner Joss Whedon, who used the interaction as inspiration while directing The Avengers.
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“That was intense,” Denisof explained of the death scene. “I remember Joss particularly wanted to direct that. He gave us an amazing atmosphere. He more or less cleared the set to just him, the camera operator, and you and me.”
“I just remember that at the end of the day we all went for a drink and were sitting in a bar and none of us spoke to each other,” Acker added. “Apparently the shawarma scene at the end of Avengers was inspired by us just sitting there not talking.”
“Just shells, completely,” Denisof added with a laugh.
“Shells” was an interesting choice of words considering the follow-up episode to “A Hole in the World” was titled “Shells” and followed the aftermath of Illyria’s takeover of Fred’s body.
Were you surprised to learn about this Angel/Avengers connection? Tell us in the comments!
In addition to interviews, the cast also participated in the anniversary panel this morning, which was moderated by Clare Kramer (Glory from Buffy). During the event, Marsters spoke about how Spike was originally supposed to die in the second season of Buffy.
Recently, Comicbook.com had the opportunity to speak with Charisma Carpenter about her time on Angel, and she talked about Cordelia’s arc, death, and relationships.
You can find out about the Angel cast’s photo ops and signings here.
