Avengers: Infinity War Writers Admit Red Skull Was a Big Reason Why They Agreed to Return

At the time, Avengers: Infinity War was being hyped as the most ambitious cinematic endeavor by a major Hollywood studio. Dozens of characters and twenty-some movies led to mega-blockbuster, so it’s only fitting Marvel Studios kept at least a few secrets under lock and key until the movie officially hit theaters. One of those surprises was the return of Red Skull, played this time around by The Walking Dead alumnus and master impressionist Ross Marquand. The long-time Captain America villain also happened to be a major reason why Infinity War writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus return to pen the script to the Avengers flick.

During ComicBook.com’s #QuarantineWatchParty for Infinity War Sunday night, both McFeely and Markus revealed they did whatever they could to tie the villain from the first MCU feature they wrote to tie into the finale.

“Bringing him back was the whole reason I agreed to do this movie,” Markus tweeted through the ComicBook.com account. “Well, that and all the other reasons.But to get a chance to bring back the bad guy from our first Marvel movie and use him in the wrap-up was too satisfying not to do.”

In a follow-up, Markus added that Infinity War was never without a script featuring Red Skull.

Marquand replaced Hugo Weaving in the role, an actor who’s since moved on to greener pastures, for a variety of reasons. Marquand said as recent as March that there’s always an opportunity for the villain to end up reappearing at one point or another, especially now that he’s not restricted to being the Stonekeeper at Vormir.

“[Directors Anthony and Joe Russo] said once the Red Skull is released of the Soul Stone, once Thanos gets it and then once Hawkeye gets it, he’s essentially free,” Marquand told Nerds4Life. “But if we think about it, there’s all these different multiverses now. So in one multiverse, when Thanos frees him, he’s free. I would imagine the first thing he would do if he still has a vendetta, or if any part of him still has ambition, would go back to Earth.”

Avengers: Infinity War is coming to Disney+ on June 25th while Avengers: Endgame can be streamed there now.

What was the biggest surprise in Infinity War or Endgame for you? Think it over and let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting me up on Twitter on @AdamBarnhardt to chat all things MCU!