Avengers: Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo did a wide-ranging interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast and talked about the new Nomad Captain America, Carol Danvers, whether time travel is involved, and the Black Widow solo movie!
“You’ll see in the trailers that he’s embracing the spirit of Nomad,” said Anthony Russo of Captain America’s new look and persona. “It was always our intent the moment we got involved with that character to deconstruct him. That’s what we like, that’s what we found interesting… With a character called ‘Captain America,’ you have to address the concept of who he is, because his identity is tied to his country. We thought it would be a very compelling narrative if he got into conflict with his identity and his country. The path he’s following is the same path he followed at the end of ‘Civil War’ which is he’s a character without a country.”
For those who don’t know, the Nomad iteration of Captain America dates back to 1974 when Steve Rogers took on the new identity after becoming disillusioned with the corrupted U.S. government. The Nomad moniker was taken on by several others over the years, including Jack Monroe (a.k.a. the third Bucky).
“We MAY be depicting Carol Danvers,” said Anthony Russo of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel debuting in Infinity War. “It’s interesting when you get to play with characters in this universe, because you are dealing with actors who have been playing parts for almost a decade. It’s interesting to bring new energy into the mix, especially when you’re doing this massive mosaic of a story. There will be massive surprises in these stories, we won’t confirm or deny, but there’s certainly going to be some curveballs thrown at the audience.”
The brothers also confirmed that the title of the fourth Avengers film may not be revealed until after the third film is released.
“Part of the concept of the title is it’s advancing the narrative,” said Joe Russo. “So we’re gonna sit on that until we feel the time is right and people have absorbed the first movie.”
They did, however, address the recent rumors that spread about time travel being utilized to bring Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) back to the era of the 2012 Avengers after set photos showed Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in his old uniform.
“Certainly there is a five-minute sequence in ‘Civil War’ around a piece of technology that was laid in for a very specific reason,” said Anthony Russo. “If you go back and look at that film, you may get a hint as to the direction.”
That piece of tech is most likely Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing (or B.A.R.F.), which allowed Tony to re-immerse himself with old memories. Speaking of exploring the past, the brothers also confirmed the rumors that Marvel Studios is working on a Black Widow solo movie, and that it may delve into her shady history as a Russian spy.
“We’re very happy for that. It’s such a rich, interesting character,” said Joe Russo. “There’s so much to explore with a character whose history was as a villain. Scarlett does such a good job playing that character, you get so used to that character that you forget that character’s history. So there’s a lot of really compelling stories to tell about someone who has a dark past.”
An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Confirmed cast members for Avengers: Infinity War so far include Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olson, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Don Cheadle, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Pom Klementieff, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Sean Gunn, Tom Holland, Paul Rudd, and Josh Brolin.
Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War is slated for a release in theaters on May 4, 2018. Then, the Avengers assemble again for the still-untitled fourth film, set for May 3, 2019.
