Avengers: Infinity War is one of the densest superhero films we’ve ever seen, as it brings all the characters and ongoing plot threads from the first ten years of the MCU together. It’s not surprising, then, that it’s the longest entry in the franchise to date. However, even at two and a half hours (including credits), it could have been a whole lot longer.
As it happens, there isn’t some “Russo cut” of Infinity War out there, as directors Anthony and Joe Russo have revealed that there were only ten minutes or so that were ultimately excised from the theatrical cut of the film. To keep the runtime trim, the production team ensured that the script was as tight as possible prior to filming, as they knew that scheduling for its incredibly in-demand cast was going to be tough, so every shot had to count.
“Our first directors’ cut was probably 2:40 or 2:30,” said Anthony. “We’re pretty close to where the directors’ cut was… You have to be so vigilant in the script phase about what you are going to include in the movie just from a storytelling standpoint and be really difficult on the material, because it is so expensive to acquire the material and you have limited time with some of the actors. Schedules don’t always line up, so you have to be really targeted.”
But what about those few scenes that did get cut from Infinity War? Joe teased that the highlight of the excess material for them was an additional sequence featuring the Guardians of the Galaxy, which he described as a “straight-up comedic scene.”
“I think there’s one really funny Guardians scene that didn’t make the cut,” reveals Joe. “Everything else was just sort of little loose ends here and there.”
The group already produced a lot of laughs in the final cut, but the comedic chemistry between Star-Lord, Drax, Rocket and the rest of the team is always enjoyable to watch, so it’s a shame that it got removed. Anthony went on to tease where this scene came within the film and what it involved, saying:
“It’s a scene where they’re sort of stuck. There’s a point in the movie where they’re stuck without knowing what to do. And it was just this absurd scene of the Guardians not knowing where to go. And it was really fun and it was very endearing to us. But because the movie is so big and so propulsive, it just wasn’t quite pushing us where we needed to go.”
If you’re curious to see this scene for yourself, then have no fear, as it will materialize eventually. Joe Russo’s assured fans that, though the sequence didn’t make it into the theatrical cut, “it will be on the DVD” release.
Avengers: Infinity War is expected to arrive on home video at some point this August, and once we’ve got an exact date for when you can get your hands on it, we’ll be sure to let you know.
