Avengers: Endgame Director Anthony Russo Reveals The Most ‘Liberating’ Aspect Of Working On The Film

The Avengers assembled at the end of the first movie

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Avengers: Endgame may not have been the end of The Avengers or the Marvel Cinematic universe, but it sure was an end of an era and the last appearance of some of our favorite heroes. Endgame ultimately marked the capstone of a ten-year run for the cast/crew and would be the last film some would work on together. While the creation of the blockbuster was sure to be an emotional endeavor for all involved, apparently there was an incredibly liberating aspect of creating Endgame for directors Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, as well as writer Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

At the point of Endgame, the directors had already worked on a number of the Avengers movies together. While it’s an advantage for sure to work with the same people creatively to tell a long-running story, Anthony Russo tells Lights, Camera, Barstool that it was nice to be able to work together to wrap up their story without worrying about the future. In the director’s own words:

One of the great thrills of doing Endgame, though, was at that point we had worked with [Christopher] Markus and [Stephen] McFeely for four films, telling a continuous narrative. And I can’t tell you how liberating it was to be able to finish and deliver Endgame without any idea or any thought about how it moves forward from there. Because often, to that point, it was about, ‘How do we move forward? How do we move forward?’ And it was very creatively liberating to not have that burden any longer

As sad as it is to hear the continuation of a fan-favorite storyline and beloved characters a burden, we get it. The Avengers and all of the different character arcs were a massive undertaking. The directors had to look back almost as much as they had to look forward. Not only were there different backstories and angles to consider from their Captain America movies, but they had to think about all Marvel films going back to the first in phase one to make connections.

Not only did the directors have a huge job with their MCU films, but they basically had all eyes on them. The reputation of Marvel is overwhelmingly positive by fans, and the pressure to make each film better than the last is very real. There was no doubt a ton of relief when Avengers: Endgame managed to be even more successful than Infinity War.

As liberating as Endgame may have been for the directors, it was a bittersweet film for the rest of us, an epic end of an era. That doesn’t mean fans don’t have a lot of Marvel goodies to look forward to, though. A number of series are in the works for some of our favorite heroes. WandaVision is currently streaming on Disney+ with 3 more episodes set to air. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, and Loki are all new Marvel series set to release this year as well, among others. With every end there is a new beginning, and that is very much the case with the MCU.

Carlie Hoke
Content Writer

Constantly thinking about books, coffee, and the existential dread I feel from Bo Burnham’s Inside.  While writing I’m also raising a chaotic toddler, who may or may not have picked up personality traits from watching one too many episodes of Trailer Park Boys.