Marvel's The Avengers Was Shot On An iPhone: True Or False?

"The Avengers" made major waves for the superhero genre in establishing how much fun a team-up between Marvel's greatest heroes and a shared universe could be. However, following its release, there were rumors that the film was partly shot using an iPhone camera. The suggestion is incorrect, even if the original source has close ties to the production of the first film featuring Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Back in 2011, Seamus McGarvey, the director of photography on "The Avengers," was quoted as saying that he did a few shots of the movie on an iPhone, adding that they even appeared in the trailer for the film. He added, "I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will affect the look of the film." However, despite making those comments, McGarvey later backtracked on them.

The comments appeared to get Seamus McGarvey in hot water, as he later told the Hollywood Reporter he was misquoted, saying he was just mentioning the new tools filmmakers had that allowed them more options to shoot film. He said he used a Canon 5D Mk2 camera while acting as the principal of photography on "The Avengers," sharing, "Unfortunately, this was edited to read that I shot some of the film with the iPhone. This is not true." The Hollywood Reporter even contacted Disney, who confirmed that nothing seen in the superhero flick was shot on an iPhone. 

While technology has allowed productions to use alternate methods to standard film cameras, with movies like "Tangerine" and "Unsane" famously shot on different versions of iPhones. Those films both embrace more personal, less effects-driven storytelling. So, filming on an iPhone made much more sense than a hundred-million-dollar-plus Marvel movie. While it would have been fun to discover "The Avengers" was actually shot on an iPhone, the film audiences got would have been much different if that was the case. McGarvey's misquote likely caused serious confusion to everyone involved – but we're glad it was eventually cleared up.