Before they first boarded the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Joe and Anthony Russo were best known for their work on sitcoms Arrested Development and Community, with their last big screen effort being forgettable 2006 comedy You, Me and Dupree. It wasn’t like they were the obvious choice to step behind the camera for the first time in eight years at the helm of a $170 million comic book blockbuster, but Marvel’s gamble paid off pretty well in the end.
Not only have the siblings directed more movies in the MCU than anyone else, but they’re also responsible for the studio’s two highest-grossing installments, the latter of which became the biggest box office hit of all-time. Having got their start with the world’s most popular franchise on Captain America: The Winter Soldier though, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Steve Rogers is the character closest to their hearts.
But despite Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame focusing much more heavily on the ensemble aspect of the MCU and telling galaxy-spanning stories that involved dozens upon dozens of characters, the duo admitted that they always saw Cap as their guide for navigating the universe.
In a recent interview, the Russos were asked if they ever considered the idea of having somebody else utter the instantly-iconic ‘Avengers Assemble’ line, and they were quick to dismiss the idea that anybody other than Captain America should have said it.
“We really didn’t. We always felt like it needed to be Cap’s moment, and I’m not sure why, but for us, we always thought it was going to be Cap’s moment. I don’t ever remember a moment where we ever talked about it being anything other than Cap’s moment. Cap was always a special guide for us through the storytelling, because he was the access point to the MCU for us. So, we do certainly look to and rely upon that character for a lot of the important parts of the narrative for sure.”
The line had already been teased right before Avengers: Age of Ultron faded to black, and hearing it in the MCU for the first time was definitely worth the wait. Even if the Russos hadn’t been so heavily involved in Captain America‘s cinematic journey, as the leader of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, there was no better candidate to deliver the battle-cry.
