This past weekend, Captain America: Civil War directors Joe and Anthony Russo paid a visit to Wizard World New Orleans to talk up their latest Marvel film. Of course, being that the brothers are slated to film the studio’s epic two-part Avengers: Infinity War, everyone and their cosplaying mothers want to know what the Avengers’ eventual showdown with Thanos will look like. Who will live and who will die? Also, will there be shawarma?
Between telling fans ahead of Wizard World that Infinity War, Part I and Part II will unite the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and commenting on there being up to 67 characters, the Russos seemingly have a lot to say. Especially Joe, who told con attendees he wants “to see some storytelling from some of the secondary characters.”
“We’re focusing on that right now with Infinity War while we’re breaking into those movies, is which characters can we pull to the forefront who potentially haven’t had their own ‘A’ story arc to this point,” he continued. “I think you’ll see that the supporting Avengers are going to become primary Avengers.”
So, what does this entail, exactly?
Considering the massive lead Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) have had — what with their own films and sequels — it sounds like the Russos want to move beyond them to other characters. New leads like Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). Or old and new secondary characters, such as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Wasp (Evangeline Lilly).
With almost eight years’ worth of films to build on, as well as a whole new slate of Phase Three properties to go, the Russos have a lot of material to work with. So much so that it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine “supporting Avengers” becoming “primary Avengers.” Then again, considering the team’s history in the comics, the lineup is almost always changing.
“Everything is finite, right? Nothing can last forever… It’s cyclical. Some new Avengers in [future movies] are going to become prominent and then maybe some Avengers might not be around anymore.”
On the one hand, Joe Russo’s comments here sound somewhat like a veiled reference to the fact that several actors’ contracts will soon be coming to an end. Some might want to renegotiate while others might opt out of the franchise entirely. On the other hand, if the Avengers films are going to continue beyond Phase Three, then new faces will be necessary to keep audiences interested and performers happy.
