Avengers: Endgame’s Russo Brothers Explain Why They Weren’t Setting Up WandaVision

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a giant place, full of a ton of stories and characters. The Russo Brothers were the architects of Phase Three's overarching plot, with the entire Infinity Saga coming to a conclusion with Avengers: Endgame. The MCU has finally returned with WandaVision on Disney+, and the Russos recently explained why they weren't setting up that show's events.

Phase Four of the MCU came later than expected, as Black Widow, Eternals, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier were all pushed back. As a result WandaVision kicked things off, and the show has been massively popular on Disney+. The Russo Brothers were recently asked if they were purposefully tying Avengers: Endgame to WandaVision, and Anthony Russo have an honest answer that might surprise fans. As he put it,

The unique thing about Endgame for us was unlike Winter Soldier, unlike Civil War, unlike Infinity War is we did not have to think about what happened after Endgame. And in fact, that was a mutually agreed upon thing that we came to with Marvel, because that was what freed us up, and also I'm speaking for [writers Christopher] Markus and [Stephen] McFeely, what freed them up as well to think about closure, think about an end rather than think about where it goes next. And I think that was really a creative gift to us. And we used that.

Touche. It looks like The Russo Brothers weren't tasked with setting up any future narratives for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And by doing Endgame's directors and writers could throw everything and the kitchen sink into the movie without worrying about what comes next. Clearly that way of working paid off.

Anthony Russo's comments to Comic Book help to peel back the curtain on what it's really like working in the MCU. The Russo Brothers had to service a massive number of characters with their pair of Avengers movies. They did this admirably, but they weren't too concerned about where the heroes of the shared universe were heading next. And as such, they've presumably been able to watch WandaVision just like the rest of us.

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Regardless of whether or not they were planning character's futures, the contents of Avengers: Endgame will no doubt heavily factor into all projects moving forward. This is especially true for the myriad TV shows coming to Disney+. WandaVision did a deep dive on Scarlet Witch's trauma and grief after losing vision, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will follow Bucky and Sam as they continue Cap's legacy. The Loki show was also made possible thanks to Endgame's Time Heist, which saw Tom Hiddleston's character escape with the Tesseract.

As for WandaVision itself, the massively popular series is gearing up for its season finale. Contrary to The Russo's approach in Avengers: Endgame, it's expected the Disney+ show will directly set up future projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Bring on the crossovers, as Phase Four is finally here.

The next movie installment in the MCU is Black Widow on May 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.