The Russo Brothers Deny Any ‘Avengers 4’ Changes Due To ‘Guardians 3’ Being Put On Hold

The anticipation for any sort of “Avengers 4” news is at a fever pitch right now. We are still 6 months away from the sequel’s release, but due to the unprecedented secrecy surrounding the new film (we don’t even have a title yet), fandom is all in a tizzy, desperate for any nuggets of information. That’s why last night’s special screening (courtesy of Collider) of “Avengers: Infinity War” was such a highly-anticipated event. No, not because it’s another chance to check out 2018’s biggest movie in a theater (though, that’s a definite plus). Instead, all eyes were on the Q&A with directors Joe and Anthony Russo that happened after the film.

READ MORE: Stan Lee Reportedly Filmed ‘Avengers 4′ Cameo Already & Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige Reacts To The Sad News

Sadly, there was no news about “Avengers 4.” No, not even a title or a date for the trailer. At this point, it’s clear that Disney and Marvel Studios is screwing with us, right? Maybe we should expect “Avengers 4” to be the final title and no trailer, huh? Regardless, the directing duo did give some additional insight into ‘Infinity War’ and revealed just how the seemingly impossible task of combining everyone in the MCU into one film was accomplished.

Thanks to Peter Sciretta over at /Film (doing the Lord’s work), we have a blow-by-blow account of the questions and answers from last night’s screening. One of the more interesting answers came when the Russos discussed the scripting process for ‘Infinity War.’ Originally, the first draft of the film was very different than what was presented on screen. The draft clocked in at 250 pages (or roughly 4-ish hours, by common script practices) and featured narration from Thanos. The film would have also been non-linear in structure, with multiple flashbacks, including an origin for the Black Order aka Thanos’ henchmen/”children.”

READ MORE: Joe Russo Says ‘Avengers 4’ Is Currently 3 Hours Long & The Stakes Are “100% Higher” Than ‘Infinity War’

The directors also talked about the surprise appearance of the Red Skull, as the guardian of the Soul Stone. They revealed that the Red Skull was always the planned character for that scene, but they originally wanted actor Hugo Weaving to reprise his role from “Captain America: The First Avenger.” The Russos wouldn’t reveal why he turned down the role, but they ended up hiring actor Ross Marquand.

It was also revealed that Joe and Anthony Russo were thinking about including the Netflix characters in the film, but the complications surrounding making those ‘Defenders’ characters transition from the small screen to ‘Infinity War’ were too much to make work.

READ MORE: Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige Updates ‘Guardians 3’ Status & Confirms ‘Avengers 4’ Trailer By End Of 2018

Moving on to the climax of ‘Infinity War,’ the Russo Brothers revealed that the character they wanted to save most from the Snap was Spider-Man. However, given that Peter Parker’s “death” at the end of the film is regarded as the most emotional of the group, it’s clear that the director’s did the right thing by making sure he turned to dust.

And finally, the Russos refuted Dave Bautista’s claims that “Avengers 4” could change due to ‘Guardians 3’ being put on “indefinite hold.” The directors said that nothing has changed in “Avengers 4” in light of the James Gunn firing because the film was already shot before the dismissal occurred.

“Avengers 4” is scheduled to come out May 3, 2019. Who knows, maybe we won’t get a trailer before then?

They did three drafts of the film, one draft had Thanos as the narrator of the film and was non Linus’s in structure and had backstories for the Black order. That script was 250 pages. Writing out Thanos narration gave them insight on the character even though it didn’t make it.

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) November 29, 2018

Hugo Weaving was asked to return to reprise Red Skull, that’s all the Russo Brothers would say. The Soul stone was the last stone in writing for them to come up with.

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) November 29, 2018

They talked about involving the Netflix Marvel characters in Infinity War, but they say it was too complicated to correlate story between not only the other marvel films in production but also the tv productions. They decided the best way to tell the story was to keep it MCU.

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) November 29, 2018

As fans and not directors, the Russo Brothers would have saved Peter Parker if they could have saved any of the characters who were dusted.

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) November 29, 2018

Guardians 3 being put on indefinite hold did not change the Russo Brothers approach for Avengers 4 and where it leaves the Guardians because they had already finished shooting the movie.

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) November 29, 2018