Avengers: Endgame hit theaters back in April, but new information about the record-breaking blockbuster is still coming out everyday. The cast and crew of the movie had a difficult task to accomplish, as it was filmed back-to-back with Infinity War. Given the dizzying pace of the movies' production, there are plenty of ideas that fell to the wayside, as The Russo Brothers trimmed the fat and made the most streamlined movie possible. And that includes the design for the Avengers' Quantum Suits.
The surviving heroes don Quantum Suits in Endgame's second act, as the Time Heist sends the audience on a wild ride through the MCU's timeline. But the actors weren't actually wearing those white suits, and they were added in digitally in post. Quite a few designs were tossed around, including one which was directly influenced by the tech in Guardians of the Galaxy. As Marvel Entertainment Visual Effects Producer Jen Underdahl recently explained:
We also tried very early on the notion of having the helmet be made of the Guardians of the Galaxy breather mesh that allowed them to travel into space. We have some early development of them with that kind of being a bubble around their head. But as soon as we started seeing it come up in post-vis footage, the directors were like ‘I don’t think that looks as heroic as it could possibly look.’ So we went ahead and developed helmets for the suit.
Well, that definitely would have been a different effect. The Quantum Suits ultimately got their helmet design from Ant-Man's signature suit, but they originally would have had their faces more exposed, using tech from the Guardians.
Jen Underdahl's comments to WIRED helps peel back the curtain on the creative process of bringing Avengers: Endgame to life. While Marvel Studios seems like a well-oiled machine, the movies are ultimately made up of artists trying to tell a story. That includes a visual language, and making sure each adaptation has the right mix of comic book magic and grounded realness.
Related: See How Avengers: Endgame’s Final Battle Came Together In Epic VFX Video
For the Quantum Suits, Jen Underdahl and company tried to combine the technology of all the tech-based heroes. This includes the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the mesh that allows the cosmic characters to breathe in space. The mesh acts like a bubble around characters' full bodies, but it didn't translate well for the Endgame's suits. Instead, the Ant-Man helmet was added, and creating a more exciting visual effect in the process.
You can see Jen Underdahl go through the visuals of Avengers: Endgame in the video below, shedding light on some of the movie's creative choices.
There was clearly an insane amount of work put into Avengers: Endgame, especially where visual effects are concerned. Characters, costumes, and hair all needed to be changed with CGI, and that's not even taking into account the massive action sequences in the blockbuster. But all that work paid off, as Endgame is the highest grossing movie of all time.
The next installment in the MCU is Black Widow on May 1st, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
