'Avengers: Endgame' Director Says 'Infinity War' Stakes Will Payoff

Anthony Russo talking about how the Infinity War ending and its stakes remain important in [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

Avengers: Infinity War went somewhere no superhero movie ever has before and according to one of the film's directors, the stakes of the third Avengers movie will pay off as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues pushing forward. At a press conference signaling the official launch of the Avengers: Endgame press tour, Anthony Russo spoke to the devastating Infinity War ending and how its stakes changed the characters for better or for worse.

The director admits that he and his brother Joe like writing themselves into a corner because it forces them to craft a creative way to get out of the bind they made for themselves.

"One of our favorite storytelling adages is 'Write yourself into a corner,'" Russo reflects. "What we take that to mean is to put yourself in a place on a narrative level where you have no idea how you could possibly move forward and that's a very exciting place to be. It forces you to come up with some really creative ways forward."

"We've tried to do that with the endings of every Marvel movie we've ever done, perhaps more so with Infinity War," the filmmaker continued. "We were very committed to the ending of that movie because we feel stories lose their relevancy and resonance unless there are real stakes."

Russo says that Endgame is entirely about how the surviving characters deal with the incredible devastation from Thanos (Josh Brolin) both on an intimate, personal level and then together as a team, however fractured they may be.

"For us, moving into this movie in Endgame, the story is very much about 'How do these characters, how do these heroes deal with loss; resounding loss, true loss, devastating loss?'" Russo says. "That's what they've experienced in Infinity War and that was a unique experience for them. The way they're written into this story is how is everyone on an individual level dealing with that experience and then how are they collectively dealing with it."

ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis was on hand at the conference and has been live recapping the question and answer session here.

Avengers: Infinity War is now streaming on Netflix while Avengers: Endgame hits theaters April 26th.

How do you think the Avengers take down Thanos in Avengers: Endgame? Will they fully repair the timeline? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation online by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!

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