Now that Black Panther is out in theaters, the focus is on Marvel’s next Avengers: Infinity War. Admittedly though, the movie is still a way off before its theatrical release and naturally, info is sparse at this time. ‘Tis the age of speculation and rumors and gleaning tidbits from wherever possible. A new such juicy bit of info has surfaced from the behind the scenes material of Thor: Ragnarok‘s Digital HD release. The feature looks back at the first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and includes a small segment where the Russo brothers speak about Infinity War. As they’ve hinted at in past interviews, they promise a satisfying culmination to the years of stories and teases planted in all the movies that have come before.
Every story that Marvel has told since Iron Man 1 finds a narrative thread in these next two Avengers movies. It is a culmination of all that storytelling.
Producer Kevin Feige chimed in with his thoughts as well, promising something similar albeit in a slightly more elaborated manner:
With Infinity War, we’re paying off every little thread and every little tease that we’ve had in what will be 18 films prior to Infinity War. There’s never been anything like this. Being able to, film after film, tease at a larger story. Really building these stories up into a giant conclusion. While at the same time introducing an entirely new direction for the future.
That’s a tall order for two movies to accomplish, never mind that they’re Avengers movies.The MCU has already introduced several characters, each with their own arcs. Combining these myriad of stories and weaving them into a satisfying conclusion along with planting new narrative threads for the future of the MCU, all while telling a cohesive story in both movies means the Russos have a lot of juggling to do on their hands. Already Feige has promised great things with the untitled Avengers 4, teasing that it will do things to with the superhero movie genre that no movie has previously attempted.
All these statements make one wonder whether Feige and the Russo brothers are setting up some unrealistic expectations for the upcoming Avengers movies. Then again, looking at what Feige has given us with past MCU movies, it’s also equally possible they’ll deliver on their promises. It however looks like they’ll need a hefty running time to tell their stories so assuming a 2 hour 30 minute run time for Avengers: Infinity War is realistic at the moment. Personally, I have faith in their abilities after their handling of multiple characters and arcs in Captain America: Civil War, which was widely regarded as a test for Infinity War. Let us know in the comments below if you agree or not.
Avengers: Infinity War releases in theaters on May 4, 2018 and a week earlier in India on April 27, 2018. Avengers 4 will arrive a year later on May 3, 2019. Thor: Ragnarok is out on Digital HD now.
