The Stakes Will Be Ten Times Higher In Avengers: Infinity War, Says Anthony Russo

Will some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes meet their end in either Avengers: Infinity War or its still untitled sequel? That’s definitely the widespread expectation going into these movies. The cast and crew themselves have often teased that death is on the way, as well. But is this all just a marketing ploy? After all, death is infamously flexible in the comic book world and that’s definitely true of this franchise.

In an attempt to find out the truth, CinemaBlend asked directors Joe and Anthony Russo point blank whether any of the Avengers would die in Infinity War or Avengers 4. Their report notes that the duo “danced around [the topic] a bit” before Anthony Russo formed this measured, but still very intriguing, reply:

“We’ll say this. We like mature storytelling. We like dramatic storytelling. We like intense storytelling. I think we appreciate conflict, and we appreciate stakes. And without stakes, there really isn’t a lot of value to the story. And I think if you look at the Marvel Universe as a whole, as a story that’s been told for ten years, you can look at this as the climax. And the stakes will be higher in this movie than they’ve ever been. Times ten.”

Claiming that the stakes will be raised “times ten” in Infinity War is a pretty bold statement for a franchise that regularly deals with the threat of the end of the world in every movie. Through the Guardians films, we’ve even got used to the whole galaxy being held in the balance. Likewise, the personal stakes got very high in the Russos’ Captain America: Civil War, so it’s difficult to see how the scope can be increased on that level, too.

As the brothers remind us, though, these films will act as “the climax” of everything in the MCU to date. And, unlike the comics where the heroes can last forever, the actors playing the Avengers have to hang up their capes some day – just as Hugh Jackman left Wolverine behind in the X-Men universe’s Logan last year. So, maybe many of the MCU’s stars will go out in a blaze of glory saving the universe from Thanos?

That begs the question, though: who could be the unlucky Avengers on their way out? Everyone from Iron Man, to Captain America, to Hawkeye, to Vision has been rumoured to bite the bullet, and the answers will at last begin to unravel when Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27th.