Each Avengers movie raised the stakes for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first Avengers showed all the heroes could work together, even if they didn’t all get along. Avengers: Age of Ultron showed the Avengers getting along, until more trouble started.
Avengers: Infinity War ended with a bang, or a snap rather. So Avengers: Endgame has three hours to deal with it, and do something no other Marvel movie has done before.
“Part of the journey is the end,” producer Kevin Feige said. “You haven’t seen an ending, a definitive conclusion to an overall saga. That is why it’s called Endgame and why I think it’s very, very, very special.”
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo return to finish Avengers: Endgame. Even before the conclusion they have to figure out where to go from Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapping half the universe out of existence.
“Joe and I had mentioned this before that one of our favorite storytelling adages is write yourself into a corner,” Anthony Russo said. “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 there.
“That’s a very exciting place to be,“ Anthony continued. “It forces you to come up with some really creative ways forward. We are very committed to the ending of that movie. We think that stories lose their meaning, relevancy and resonance unless there are real stakes.”
Normally all your favorite heroes getting together is a cause to celebrate. After Infinity War, it’s a time of mourning.
“For us, moving into this new movie, into Endgame, the story’s very much about how do these characters, how do these heroes deal with loss, resounding loss, true loss, devastating loss?” Anthony said. “That’s what they’ve experienced in Infinity War. That’s a unique experience for all of them. How does a person move forward from that moment? How does a hero move forward from that?”
The 21 Marvel movies that came before Avengers: Endgame also gave fans more investment in the tragedy of Infinity War.
“I think a lot of people have invested heart and soul into the characters,” Joe Russo said. “It’s a real sense of community and sharing these stories and believing in them.”
Avengers: Endgame is for those devoted fans.
“I think with Endgame we get the opportunity to finish off one of the grandest experiments of movie history and bring these movies, as Kevin said, an epic conclusion,” Joe said. “What we’re hoping for is that people feel satisfied with the conclusion.”
Avengers: Endgame is in theaters Friday, April 26, or really Thursday night the 25th.