Long before the film arrives at its genocidal finale, Avengers: Infinity War is packed with moments of loss and defeat as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes try in vain to stop Thanos in his mission to acquire all the Infinity Stones. And among the many heavy scenes that directors Anthony and Joe Russo had to film, it seems the pair have a special place in their heart for the tragedy that unfolds on Vormir.
Last week, the Russo Brothers attended a screening of Infinity War where they talked at length about the year’s biggest release. When the question came up of what the most emotional scene was to shoot, Anthony Russo was quick to respond with the answer “Thanos/Gamora,” with Joe adding that the sequence in which the Mad Titan throws his adopted daughter to her death was “a very tough scene.” Anthony went on to explain that they regarded this moment as one of emotional depth and complexity.
“I mean, it’s a huge tragedy at the center of the film,” explained Russo. “We ran at the full complexity and depth of what that scene was.”
Joe then linked the sequence to the twisted relationship between Thanos and Gamora, before praising actress Zoe Saldana for her performance.
“Zoe’s amazing in the scene,” added the director. “It’s a story of an abuser and its victim and he wins. It’s a very painful scene.”
While the pair singled out the death of Gamora as the most emotional part of Avengers: Infinity War to shoot, the Russo Brothers offered different choices for favorite moments, with Joe Russo opting for Thor’s triumphant arrival at the climax and Anthony choosing the death of Vision, the latter of which would be singled out by plenty of fans as an even more brutal scene than the Vormir sequence.
Naturally, with the victims of Thanos’ mass dusting expected to make a return, the fans also have their suspicions that both Gamora and Vision might be coming back for next year’s Avengers 4. Either way, we’ll find out if it’s too soon to grieve when the film hits theaters on May 3rd, 2019.
