AVENGERS ENDGAME

Anthony and Joseph Russo became the go to directors for blockbuster movies with films like, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War. Their newest film, Avengers: Endgame, is It is expected to conclude the last decade of Marvel Studio films and usher in a new era.  They recently spoke about what they want audiences to experience when they watch it.

JOE & ANTHONY RUSSO

At a press conference in Los Angeles, Iron Man director Jon Favreau, questioned the cast and directors of Avengers: Endgame.  Favreau complimented the directors by saying, “Anthony Russo, and by the way, both of you Russo Brothers, thank you as somebody who has been involved in this journey for looking after it and allowing it to grow and finding greater potential and building it into what it is today.”

THE DEBT WE OWE

When Favreau asked them how Avengers: Infinity War affected the tone of Endgame, Anthony Russo said, “First of all, thank you for saying that Jon. And secondly, Joe and I, we speak constantly about the debt we owe to you for starting this whole thing. And we both remember that moment that we sat in the theater and watched that first Iron Man for the first time. I remember that feeling of like, I wish we were a part of this. We had no idea that years later we actually would be. So, that was an epic moment in a movie theater. So, thank you for that.”

WRITE YOURSELF INTO A CORNER

“So, the ending of Infinity War is, look, Joe and I have mentioned this before. One of our favorite storytelling adages is write yourself into a corner. And what we take that to mean is put yourself in a place on a narrative level where you have no idea how you could possibly move forward from here. And that’s a very exciting place to be. And it forces you to come up with some really creative ways forward. And we’ve tried to do that with the endings of every single Marvel movie we’ve done and never more so of course than Infinity War. We are very committed to the ending of that movie.”

MARVEL’S AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Josh Brolin as Thanos

REAL STAKES

“We think that stories lose their meaning and relevancy and resonance unless there are real stakes. And for us, moving into this new movie into Endgame, the story is very much about, how do these characters, how do these heroes deal with loss? Resounding loss, true loss, devastating loss. That’s what they’ve experienced in Infinity War. That was a unique experience for all of them. And how does a person move forward from that moment? How does a hero move forward from that moment? And our road into this story is, how is everybody on an individual level dealing with that experience and then how do they collectively deal with it?”

THE GRAND MOSAIC

When Favreau asked Joe Russo what he wants audiences to experience when they watch Avengers Endgame, Joe said, “Look. This is I think a really unique experiment in movies, this grand mosaic. Depending on how you count it up, 11 franchises that have been interwoven into one big narrative. And I think a lot of people have invested a lot of heart and soul into the characters.”

EPIC CONCLUSION

“When we take these movies around the world, it’s really heartwarming to see people come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I started watching this with my classmates when I was ten years old. Now we’re all 21 and we’re all going to go see this together.’ Or, ‘My parents have taken me to every movie,’ or, ‘My grandfather has taken me to every film.’ It’s a real sense of community and sharing in these stories and believing in them. And I think with Endgame, we get the opportunity to think to finish off one of the grandest experiments in movie history and bring it to, as [Producer Kevin Feige] said, an epic conclusion. So, what we’re hoping for is that people feel satisfied with the conclusion.”