Between them, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are about to execute one of the most audacious juggling acts in the history of cinema.
We are, of course, referring to the back-to-back release of Infinity War and the unnamed Avengers 4, which are expected to bring the curtain down on this current incarnation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In doing so, Markus and McFeely were seemingly given free rein to kill off any character they deemed fit, and while speaking to Screen Rant, the creative duo outlined the deft balancing act that comes with assembling the entire Marvel universe.
Keep in mind that these comments were pulled from an interview conducted in June of 2017, so the following snippet may feel a little dated now that Infinity War has already pumped out two teasers and a full-length sizzle reel.
We talked a lot about, it’s a [co-director] Joe Russo term, ‘strange alchemy.’ What is it when you put the two characters together, even in a fairly normal traditional situation, but since we’ve invested in those characters and known them, we sort of delighted in the idea of those two people rubbing against each other. So, we always chased ‘delight’ – and terror. Lots of terror.
Of course, Markus and Feely are no strangers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having worked on all three installments of the Captain America trilogy – namely The First Avenger, Winter Soldier and Civil War. So Infinity War feels like the natural evolution of their MCU career, and it’s fair to say that the stakes have never been higher.
And there’s also…we’re coming off Civil War. We’re coming off Winter Soldier. So that there’s lots of backstory that still needs to play out in addition to the Thanos situation. Like, I just walked by Sebastian Stan out there. You could put Bucky in a room with anybody and they’re going to say, ‘Oh sh*t! He’s a maniac.’ He’s shot Natasha [Romanoff] twice as far as I can keep count, so it’s going to be interesting.
After 10 years and 18 movies, the Marvel Studios logo has arguably become a hallmark of quality the likes of which we haven’t seen since the heyday of Amblin. And it’s that 10-year legacy that has allowed Avengers: Infinity War to become one of the biggest movies of 2018.
