Contrary to previous reports, it doesn’t look as though Joe and Anthony Russo will run the gamut when it comes to costumed heroes in Avengers: Infinity War.
Some months ago, eagle-eyed Marvel fans came to the conclusion that the studio’s two-part ensemble movie could feature anywhere up to 67 lead parts. In response to that eye-watering tally, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely – who were also involved in next month’s Civil War – revealed to The Huffington Post that the final Infinity War won’t get carried away in the casting department.
One member of that ensemble that will feature heavily, though, is Josh Brolin’s Thanos. Largely relegated to the sidelines (read: post-credits stings) since being introduced, McFeely revealed that Infinity War will afford the Mad Titan with “lots of good screen time.”
“[Thanos]. It’s easy. Really giving him good scenes. You know, he’s never been the villain in any of the movies. He’s never been the main character in that way, so giving lots of good screen time to Thanos is paramount and pretty fun….He hasn’t had an amazing scene. I think it’s an advantage ultimately, right? Because people are anticipating this guy coming in and really delivering the goods. So, I think they’re eager, and we just have to deliver it. We don’t have to convince them that he’s gonna be interesting. We just have to execute what has been teased.”
When it comes to that character count, Markus addressed the rumors that Infinity War will feature up to 67 lead parts across its two features.
“That number comes from the fact that that’s everyone who’s already been introduced,” says Markus. “If you line up all the characters who are available to use from the prior Marvel movies, it racks up to about 60 something characters, let alone the new ones you could bring in. We had our office filled with cards of everybody who was alive and available, and the brothers came in and went, ‘Whoa. There’s not going to be 67 lead parts.”
Welcoming Iron Man and The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau back to the fray as an executive producer, Avengers: Infinity War is expected to launch into theaters across May 4, 2018 and May 3, 2019. Once the dust has settled, expect the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be “very different” to what has come before.
