'Avengers: Infinity War' Directors on Why the MCU Doesn't Always Follow the Comics

The MCU is clearly inspired by the comics that came before, but that doesn't mean it is restricted [...]

The MCU is clearly inspired by the comics that came before, but that doesn't mean it is restricted to retreading the exact same ground.

Films like Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor: Ragnarok, Iron Man, Captain America: Civil War, and now Avengers: Infinity War all feature bits and pieces from high profile comic storylines, but as Infinity War director Joe Russo explains, there's a reason they don't follow the books as closely as some would prefer (via Telegraphindia).

"We're inspired by the books, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not the Marvel comic book universe," Russo said. "They're different. As a comic book fan, I think it's fun to take elements from the books that I identify with. But if I want a literal interpretation, I'll just read the book. I think that Marvel jumped off with this cinematic experiment that they started 10 years ago with a narrative that diverts from that. So we wanted to fulfill storylines that we've set up in Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War that we want to carry forward into Avengers: Infinity War and the next one; but not necessarily do a literal interpretation of Jim Starlin's' book. But there are great ideas in that book, and we owe a lot of the movie and what's behind the movie to Jim."

The Russo Brothers have a genuine appreciation for the comics and strive to include plenty of nods to fan favorite stories. Still, you can't please everyone.

"But it's been important for us to find connective tissue that the audience can relate to and has emotional connection to based upon what they've seen before," Russo said. "As far as fan service goes, every fan wants something different. You can't please all fans. We're fans, and we love making these movies, and we loved comic books growing up. So our mandate all along has been that we're going to make something that pleases us, that we're happy with and that we're excited about and that we want to share with people. Then we keep our fingers crossed that everybody's as excited about it as we are."

Marvel Studios' Black Panther is now playing in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27, 2018. It is followed by Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6, 2018. Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, 2019, while the fourth Avengers movie lands on May 3, 2019. The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming hits on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lands in 2020.

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