Russo Brothers Reveal Marvel Comic Influences on 'Avengers: Infinity War'

One the best aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the way that it takes some fan-favorite Marvel Comics storylines and adapts them into something entirely new for the Marvel Cinematic Universe while still retaining the spirit and thematic resonance of the source material.

The storyline for Avengers: Infinity War has several clear Marvel Comics influences, and while on set of the film, ComicBook.com had a chance to talk to directors Joe and Anthony Russo about how those comics influenced the shape of their milestone Marvel movie.

Check out what Joe Russo had to say about it:

"Certainly the Starlin book was our jumping-off point. It's a brilliant comic. The ideas behind it are so large, it's what pushed us to go for the scale that we're going for on these movies. Anthony and I love the post-modern comics, so we're also drawing from Infinity, the newer stuff. We're combining it all into, again, what's our favorite stuff, and how do we see elements from each helping our story, and the story that we want to tell."

Marvel's classic "Infinity Gauntlet" storyline by Jim Starlin and newer "Infinity" storyline by Jonathan Hickman are indeed the two biggest (and most obvious) influences on Infinity War's storyline, with Secret Avengers being another. The mix of old and new seems to be blending well in this film, while also managing to appeal to Marvel fans in a wide range of ages.

Of course, there are also some big, obvious, changes to these storylines that we're going to see. Without the full roster of Marvel characters at their disposal, some key character developments will have to be left out, and due to changes that have already been made in the MCU continuity. However, Marvel fans never seem to mind those kinds of switches when it's Marvel studios making the alterations, so for many viewers, this will actually be a pretty introduction to some great Marvel Cosmic stories.

How do you feel about Infinity War's adaptation of some classic Marvel storytelling? Let us know in the comments!

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 on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.