It’s been an exciting few weeks for Marvel fans. First there was the announcement that the release date forAvengers: Infinity Warhad been bumped up one week, then there was the behind-the scenes featurette that popped up earlier this week, followed by a new TV spot that featured a tiny bit of new footage. However, it was the release of the highly anticipated second trailer and the announcement of pre-sale tickets that set everybody into Infinity overload. Now that we’re getting closer to the release ofInfinity War, the Russo Brothers have revealed who has the most screen time in the epic movie.
In various interviews over the course of the last week, the Russo Brothers have stated thatThorwill have a very important story arc inInfinity War. The directing duo have also said thatThanos will have a very large part to playin the movie. When asked about who exactly has the most screen time inInfinity War, Joe Russo doubled down on the previous talk about Thanos and Thor. He had this to say.
“Interestingly enough, I’ll start out by saying Thanos, even though he’s not a character that had a huge preexisting story in the Marvel universe. He was a threat, but he was not developed in any way up to this point. Thanos has an incredible amount of screen time in this film, in a lot of ways I would say it’s his movie. Our job when we make these films - and what we feel is important to us - is to surprise the audience. We wanted to tell a story that they weren’t expecting, and the story is told from the point of view of a villain, which I think is also really unique and risky for a commercial film that will surprise the audience. I think this is a market where the audience really enjoys innovation and disruption, and we want to do something innovative in this space. So I think Thanos has an incredible amount of screen time, and I think you’ll find that Thor has a really interesting arc in the film. He hasn’t been at the forefront of other Avengers movies, but he certainly has a very important role in this film. So I’ll say, Thanos and Thor.”
Joe Russo talks a lot about wanting tosurprise the audiencewhen they watchInfinity Warfor the first time, which is why they went the route that they did. Thor’s story at the end ofRagnarokperfectly sets up Avengers 3, but he has a lot going that happened before that moment, which makes his story very intriguing. As for Thanos, we’ve barely seen him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now we’re not only going to see his story played out on the big screen, but the Russo Brothers hint that we may even feel some empathy for the Mad Titan.
As for how the Russo Brothers were able to tell such an epic story with so many characters, Joe Russo talks about directing episodes of the cult comedyArrested Development, which also had arather large ensemble castas well as their work onCommunity. The director points out that it was pretty easy to see which characters are moving the plot along while others are involved in a more personal story. Russo also mentions that it’s not at all very easy. He explains.
“You know, we’ve had a lot of experience balancing ensembles. Our first filmWelcome to Collinwoodwas an ensemble,Arrested Developmentwas an ensemble,Communitywas an ensemble,Happy Endingswas an ensemble. We had a lot of experience working with and telling stories with a lot of characters and making sure that each of those characters was serviced either in an A story, a B story or C story in some regard - either driving the plot, or they’re driving their own personal story. It’s a lot of hard work and it’s part of the reason that we decided to makeAvengers3 and 4, was just the pure level of ambition involved in the movies. It’s an unprecedented amount of characters I think in a commercial film.”
Marvel fans may be taken aback by hearing thatThanos and Thorhave the most screen time inInfinity War, but it makes a lot of sense after reading a multiple interviews with the Russo Brothers over the last few months. They’ve been hinting from the start that this was going to be Josh Brolin’s movie and it seems more recently that they’ve been talking about the importance of Thor within the MCU. Regardless, the new trailer and the new information has fans more excited than ever to finally see the epicInfinity Waron the big screen. you’re able to read the rest of the interview with the Russo Brothers atFandango.
