It’s been two weeks since the world was forever changed by the events of “Avengers: Infinity War.” Okay, maybe that’s hyperbolic, but honestly, looking at social media, you get the feeling that Marvel Studios might need to watch out for a class-action lawsuit due to the psychological trauma caused by the film. Many fans left the two-hour-and-forty-minute film utterly depressed by the sheer amount of casualties, fake or not, as seen in the film.
But now that we’ve had time to process, it’s good to take a look at the film in a little more detail. And the good folks at Backstory Magazine were able to sit down with the writers of ‘Infinity War,’ Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and discuss the intricacies of writing the superhero epic, and if there were any ideas and scenes that they just weren’t able to fit in the film that was already stuffed to the max.
As far as scenes that were changed over the course of writing the script, the magazine details how the writers had extended flashback scenes with Thanos. One scene included Thanos dealing with the social rejection from the other Titans on his home planet, while others showed how he recruited his Black Order. There was also a different opening with Tony and Pepper, but the writers didn’t elaborate, other than to say it was “tonally different.”
Another scene that was cut from the script was something that fans might have been expecting. “We had a couple of really cool versions of an action sequence illustrating what Steve, Natasha, and Falcon – basically the Secret Avengers – have been up to. They kicked a lot of ass and it was brutal,” says Markus. But those hoping for more Cap in ‘Avengers 4’ are in luck. The writers said the hero is due for a “very intense arc” in the coming sequel.
There has also been a lot of talk about James Gunn’s input on the script, particularly with the Guardians. The article details how the writers interacted with Gunn about dialogue, but they also discussed the only real change that Gunn (and Chris Pratt) had about the story.
“The only change [James] really went deep on and we had more than one conversation about was the decision by Star-Lord to shoot Gamora and then bubbles come out obviously,” says McFeely. “So we wrestled with, ‘Would it be interesting if Star-Lord could not bring himself to fulfill his promise and kill the woman he loves?’ It’s not a traditional hero arc. We were trying to get to a failure [moment] because his love for her outweighed his duty in some ways. And Gunn and Pratt were really adamant that he would do it. So we did it, and of course, it didn’t hurt our story to do it, because it’s not gonna work.”
Markus and McFeely also revealed a little bit about the “fake scripts” that were given to cast and crew to keep the plot relatively secret. Due to the fact that crew had to prepare scenes, and make sure actors are dressed accordingly, these fake scripts were given to just give the basics, with the details changed.
Markus explained, “…if they’re sitting in a room and someone pulls out the Infinity Gauntlet, in the fake draft someone would pull out like a bologna sandwich.” McFeely continues the thought, “It makes no sense. We looked like terrible writers to much of the crew.”
“If someone died in a scene and we wanted to keep that secret, they would miraculously rub their head, get up and walk away. And then they’d say, “Whew, that really hurt,’” said Markus.
Overall, the Marvel Article Archive of Backstory contains some of the the most detailed, spoiler-filled interviews with the filmmakers behind “Avengers: Infinity War.” It’s well worth a full read.
You can read two free excerpts:
The Backstory Marvel Article Archive is a digital magazine that features 25 articles worth of Marvel movies over the years, including 2 pieces with over 10,000 words from the writers and directors of “Infinity War” and can be read via Backstory’s site. (www.backstory.net)
