Avengers: Endgame Co-Director Joe Russo Dubbed The Time Travel Plot As A Dumb Idea Calling It A Construct Of Genre Filmmaking (Photo Credit: Instagram; IMDb)
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The 2019 Avengers: Endgame proved to be one of the most profitable ventures for the Marvel studios, with the total box-office collection standing at more than $2 billion worldwide. Massive, isn’t it? The Robert Downey Jr starrer flick was loved by one and all as it quickly became a classic in the world of superhero movies. However, delivering a blockbuster proved to be a herculean task for the Russo Brothers, but as claimed by the makers, a dumb idea accidentally made the film what it is today. Scroll down to know the details.
Time travel was a big part of Avengers: Endgame, and the credited screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely then toyed with the idea, initially calling it the dumbest idea. Markus earlier called the idea of time travel a very obvious and uncreative story choice. Even Endgame co-director Joe Russo agreed that time travel was a dumb idea, adding that it was impossible.
According to Slash Film, on Avengers: Endgame’s home video releases, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely shared how they were busy penning the script for Avengers: Infinity War but they did not have a solid ending in mind to conclude the series. Infinity War ended with Thanos snapping his fingers and erasing half of all living things from the universe leaving half of the superheroes dead. Markus noted that Peyton Reed’s films Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) allowed the idea of time travel in an organic manner.
Shedding light on the same, Markus shared, “This [scene]… sort of mirrors us sitting in a room, trying to figure out how the hell to get out of the corner we wrote ourselves in at the end of Infinity War and entertaining the idea of a time machine, and then feeling that that was the stupidest idea you could possibly have.” He added, “But then realizing that the ‘Ant-Man‘ franchise, which we hadn’t dealt with yet, had legitimately if you believe the science the seeds of a time machine in it, which was a breakthrough.”
In Ant-Man, the lead character would shrink so small that time moves differently for them. For example, when Paul Rudd spent five hours as Ant-Man, it was five years in the normal-sized world.
Endgame co-director Joe Russo also shed light on the concept of time travel, saying, “Ultimately we realized that, look, time travel doesn’t exist. So, it is a ludicrous notion. It’s a construct of genre filmmaking. And, you know, I think when we all bought in on it was when we realized the emotional scenes that could take place between two characters and people that they loved who are no longer with them.”
Joe added, “So, ultimately, if you’re entertained by them coming up with the plan, executing the plan, and then you’re emotionally fulfilled by what they do while they’re executing the plan, it’s worth the construct.”
In the end, the audiences loved the concept of time travel and accepted the plot wholeheartedly, making Avengers: Endgame the second-highest-grossing movie of all time.
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