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‘Avengers: Endgame’: The Screenwriters Answer Every Question You Might Have
Christopher Markus, left, and Stephen McFeely have written six entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the latest, “Avengers: Endgame.”
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Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times
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Christopher Markus, left, and Stephen McFeely have written six entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the latest, “Avengers: Endgame.”CreditCreditElizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times
By Dave Itzkoff
April 29, 2019
This article contains spoilers for “Avengers: Endgame.”
It’s over.
With “Avengers: Endgame,” the two-movie story line that started with “Avengers: Infinity War” is finished, along with the 22-film cycle that represents the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. And some of the heroes we’ve followed on this decade-long adventure are gone, too.
In the three-hour span of “Endgame,” the Avengers confront and kill Thanos (Josh Brolin), who had used the Infinity Gauntlet to snap away half of all life in the universe. When the story resumes five years later, the Avengers are still left with their grief and remorse — until the unexpected return of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) kicks off a race back through time to retrieve the Infinity Stones before Thanos could obtain them in the first place. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) sacrifices her life; a colossal battle ensues; Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) dies; and Captain America (Chris Evans) finds a way to live the life he’d always wanted, reappearing as an old man to entrust his shield to the Falcon (Anthony Mackie).
The “Avengers: Endgame” team includes, from left, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper (as the voice of Rocket Raccoon), Paul Rudd and Scarlett Johansson
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Marvel Studios
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The “Avengers: Endgame” team includes, from left, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper (as the voice of Rocket Raccoon), Paul Rudd and Scarlett JohanssonCreditMarvel Studios
These and many other head-spinning developments in “Endgame” emerged from the imaginations of its screenwriters, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who also wrote “Infinity War.” (Both films were directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.) Markus and McFeely have been friends and collaborators since the 1990s and also wrote all three “Captain America” movies as well as “Thor: The Dark World” (with Christopher L. Yost) and created the Marvel TV series “Agent Carter.”
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In a recent interview in their offices in Los Angeles, Markus and McFeely discussed the many choices and possibilities of “Endgame,” the roads not taken and the decisions behind who lived and who died. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Deciding the Plot Points
How did you decide where the major events of “Infinity War” and “Endgame” would fall?
CHRISTOPHER MARKUS The biggest point was probably the Snap. And we realized fairly early on that if we didn’t do it at the end of the first movie, the first movie wasn’t going to have an end. And if we did it too early in the first movie, it would be a bit of an anticlimax after you’ve killed half the universe to have them stumbling around for half an hour.
STEPHEN McFEELY Another big plot point is when everyone comes back. So the question is, is it early in the second movie? Late in the second movie? You notice the players left on the board are the O.G. Avengers [Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye], and let’s give them their due. It meant that we were likely going to bring people back late. So that if you were a big fan of Doctor Strange or Black Panther or Bucky [the Winter Soldier] or Sam [the Falcon], you’re only going to get a little brief window on them. It can’t be all things to all people.
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The writers decided that the Thanos Snap, obliterating half of all human life, shouldn’t come too early in the first part of the concluding “Avengers” movies.
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Disney/Marvel, via Associated Press
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