Spoilers, spoiler, spoilers. Do not proceed further if you haven’t seen Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” like three times and have processed your grief.
While most of the press for “Avengers: Infinity War” was conducted before the press saw the movie, producer Kevin Feige, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and director’s Joe and Anthony Russo have been doing some select spoiler press now that the movie is well into release.
You’ve heard lots of bits from the movie, those who survived, Valkyrie, and those not on screen who you could see later, Gamora’s death, the permanence of some of the character deaths and more.
But if you’re looking for a one stop shopping place to hear some talk about virtually every spoiler moment in “Avengers: Infinity War” this just released, Happy Sad Confused podcast is just for you. Here’s some highlights.
The Russos discussed their intentions with the opening of the film and Loki’s death. They wanted to communicate to audiences from jump street that sh*t was about to get real.
“We wanted to let people know that the stakes were real and we were going to go to a tonally complicated place,” Anthony Russo said. And as for Loki’s death given that he’s faked his death before? “No resurrections this time,” he added. To put a cherry on top of it, the interview asked one more time. This is it a finality? “Yes,” they said. There you have it, if you haven’t come to terms with it already, Loki is toast.
Thor on the heroes journey of building his way back up after he’s lost everything, Asgard, his people, Loki, but doing a twist so he doesn’t achieve his goal of revenge on Thanos:
Deconstruction and misdirection is part of the filmmakers toolkit. The Russos said it was excited to destroy Thor’s world, build him back up, but then subvert expectations, by not letting him have his full revenge.
“It’s the misdirection,” Joe said, detailing how Thor has lost Asgard, mostly everyone on the planet and his brother Loki. The logical step is for Thor to get comeuppance and obviously he almost does in the movie. “You want to believe that this character deserves to win the movie,” he said. “Had he gone for [Thanos’] head he might of [finished him],” explained Joe Russo
READ MORE: The Russo Brothers Say “Don’t Do It” When Asked About Shared Cinematic Universes
On Gamora’s death, the Russos said they didn’t have to check with “Guardians Of The Galaxy” director James Gunn.
“No, Marvel is very good about allowing every director to have their freedom,” Joe explained. Anthony continued, “We settle on a story we want to tell and then we present that to Marvel and we got no pushback on that choice. We didn’t have a direct conversation with James about Gamora choice, but certainly, Kevin [Feige] did.”
We see Gamora seen as a child in the Soul Stone dimension at the end of the movie. Does this mean the character could come back? While the directors didn’t give a flat out no, they certainly suggested it. “I think it’s a reflection of her spirit and the power required to use all the stones at once is so significant, it sends him into this dream state,” Anthony said.
READ MORE: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’: Unpacking Marvel’s Sprawling, Cosmic Team-Up [Podcast]
In explaining the risks they were able to take, the Russos dropped some subtle shade on former Marvel Cinematic Universe chief Ike Perlmutter who was said to always be battling Kevin Feige for control.
Feige eventually gave Disney an ultimatum and he won and Perlmutter was ousted from control about all things Marvel on the big screen. “They take risks,” Joe said of Marvel and their new era. “Nothing is sacred…they’ve been great about allowing us to make extreme choices. And I think there was a change of guard at Marvel quite a few years back that allowed for more significant creative freedom.”
Why The Hulk Won’t Save Banner: He Wasn’t Scared Of Thanos
The Russos delved deep into the psychic relationship between Bruce Banner and the Hulk and how that keeps growing and developing as witnessed in “Thor: Ragnarok.” He likened to the characters as Jekyll and Hyde, but at war with one another. The other idea, again, was to subvert expectations and not just have Hulk come in and save the day.
“These two beings don’t like each other and don’t like helping each other,” Joe said. “We thought it would be more interesting to explore Banner as a hero. We thought it would be more interesting choice to take him down a path where the Hulk is not interested in helping him anymore. That these two have reached an impasse with each other and Banner has to rise to the occasion.”
Is Hulk scared of Thanos after the Mad titan pummels him in their first encounter? Not really. “I think people have interpreted it that Hulk’s scared,” Joe said. “[And] certainly, he’s had his ass kicked before and he loves a good fight, but I think it’s really reflective of the journey from ‘Ragnarok,’ that these two characters are constantly in conflict with each other over control. And I think if Hulk were to say why [he didn’t return in ‘Infinity War’], he’d say, ‘Banner only wants Hulk for fighting’. He’s had enough of saving Banner’s ass.”
The Hulk fake out in the “Avengers: Infinity War” trailer
Much has been made about the fact that the “Avengers: Infinity War” trailers feature the Hulk fighting alongside the Avengers’ on Wakanda, but clearly that’s not the case and in the finished movie Banner fights in the Hulkbuster Iron Man armor with the team. The answer here was diplomatic with the brothers finding a polite way to admit this was a fakeout. “Audiences are so predictive now that you have to be really smart how you craft a trailer,” Joe said. “Because an audience can watch a trailer and tell you what’s going to happen in the film.” Anthony went a little further. “[That moment] was created for the trailer [specifically].”
READ MORE: Let’s Talk About The Survivors Of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ & How They May Save The MCU
Is this the end for Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man?
Asked specifically if the trio of original Avengers who had their own solo movies would be gone post ‘Avengers 4,’ the directors didn’t confirm anything obviously, but did suggest resolution for all three of them and stressed the term “a new beginning” and we’ll all just have to interpret what that means on our own. “We describe it as, if the first 10 years of the Marvel Universe as a book, these are the final chapters,” Joe said. “A new book will be written, beyond this book, but certainly there will be some endings and some new beginnings.”
“Even for those three characters, we handle differently,” Anthony remarked. “Everybody is on their own journey and at a different point in their journey and for some, as Joe said, it may be an end. For some, it’s a new beginning. We’ll have to see…”
More about the Banner/Widow relationship, stripping away Scarlett Witch’s accent on purpose, Captain Marvel and so much more in this fascinating pod. Listen to the entire thing below and weigh in here whether you think ‘Infinity War’ can outgross “Black Panther” at the domestic box office. We’re not so sure it’s a foregone conclusion.