Not for the first time, Avengers: Infinity War co-director Joe Russo has compared the Marvel mash-up to the final chapter “of a book that’s been told over the last 10 years.”
In that time span, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has evolved into Hollywood’s one true cash cow, easily surpassing all other film franchises in its journey to $17 billion worldwide. And what a journey it’s been… though it’s far from over.
With Avengers 4 set to pick up the torch next year (after Captain Marvel, of course), there are still many more Marvel stories to tell, but in the case of Infinity War, the Russo Brothers felt like they were putting a bow on what will be remembered as the MCU’s first installment.
Take Joe Russo’s comments from the film’s commentary track (h/t Reddit) as an example, where he explained that among other things, one of their intentions was to unsettle audiences with the movie.
Now we should talk about the deaths in this film. Obviously, I think we’re all very committed to stakes. We’ve said before that we feel like nothing has value unless it has an ending. That this movie represents the final chapter of a book that’s been told over the last 10 years in the Marvel Universe. Part of what we wanted to do, out of the gate, was to unsettle you as you’re watching the film. You’re sitting in the theater thinking, ‘Most characters in the Marvel Universe have been safe for a decade.’ And we wanted to knock you off-kilter and make the audience understand that the stakes were going to be significant and the cost was going to be very high in the movie.
And you can’t say Joe and Anthony Russo weren’t successful in their mission. By the time the eerily silent credits rolled on Avengers: Infinity War, audiences were left clutching onto their chairs, as a mixture of shock and disbelief washed over us all.
Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange… all gone. They won’t be off the scene (trapped in the Soul Stone?) for too long, though, as Avengers 4 will largely revolve around Iron Man’s quest to undo the Mad Titan’s mass genocide.
