From a storytelling perspective, you could argue that failure for our heroes was inevitable in Avengers: Infinity War, with the film’s genocidal conclusion paving the way for whatever developments directors Anthony and Joe Russo have planned for the upcoming Avengers 4. But from an in-universe perspective, the filmmaking pair have offered some clarification that you can probably put the blame on Star-Lord for Thanos’ eventual victory.
Speaking to Collider, Joe Russo reflected on Peter Quill’s famous blunder on Titan, when the Guardians of the Galaxy regular failed to keep his cool and inadvertently thwarted the team’s plan in the process. And while the director has defended Star-Lord’s careless actions in the past, he still admits that the moment proved crucial in the Mad Titan’s path to success:
“That was the turning point of that scene. Again, these are flawed characters that make emotional choices, human choices [and] had Quill not done that, the movie might have ended right there.”
Of course, a flaw in the character isn’t necessarily a flaw in the film, and as Russo has previously explained, Star-Lord’s mistake was understandable given the emotional strain he was under at the time. What’s more, Peter was hardly the only hero whose screw-up ended up costing the lives of half the universe. Thor, for one thing, still draws derision for his failure to go for the head at the movie’s climax – another error that was made because the character was in a very emotional place.
Our heroes probably won’t be feeling any less stressed after the events of Avengers: Infinity War, but it’s a safe bet that they’ll be turning the tide against Thanos regardless when Avengers 4 hits theaters on May 3rd, 2019.
