Captain America: Civil War is shaping up to be Marvel's best film yet, but directors Joe and Anthony Russo aren't anywhere close to being done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The pair are set to direct
Avengers: Infinity War Part I & II, which are set to be a direct culmination to the MCU saga we've witnessed thus far. The films will include over 60 characters and with the first part arriving in just two years, the brothers have their work cut out for them. In a new video interview, the directors discuss the challenges of making
Civil War, and how they plan to tackle
Infinity War's "unconventional story structure".
With the film being released so closely to
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, along with featuring a similar plot structure, there was always going to be comparisons drawn between the two. The Russos admitted to not having seen the DC film, but are excited that both films are exploring something common.
“Firstly, that’s the world we live in, I think we’re moving through some darker times and I think that causes people to be self-reflective," said Joe.
"Secondly, there’s an incredible amount of content in the superhero space and movies right now, and everyone’s moving towards deconstruction because that’s the next place to go to. It was our natural inclination after Winter Soldier to deconstruct the Avengers. It was Tim Miller’s inclination in Deadpool to deconstruct the genre. It’s an area that hasn’t been explored up until this point in a very dramatic way, so it’s a natural movement.”
One of the biggest talking points, of course, was the number of characters rumoured to be in the film, which is over 60.
“There’s a lot of characters," admitted Joe.
"It’s a culmination film, so the whole idea and ambition behind the movies is to bring all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe together.” Anthony Russo elaborated,
“What Marvel’s done over the past ten years is unprecedented filmmaking, where you have this serialized storytelling with these interconnected characters who sort of weave together from film to film. Infinity War is meant to be the culmination of that entire journey that we started back with the first Iron Man.”
When questioned on whether any television characters would be included, the directors remained coy.
“We explore all the options on a creative level, which is one thing we really love about Marvel. That’s how someone like Spider-Man ends up in a movie," Anthony said.
“We have a real responsibility in the culmination films to deal with characters that already have pre-existing storylines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, plus, we’re bringing together the entire universe, so who knows if there will be room from a storytelling standpoint?" added Joe.
"They’ll be multi perspective movies, which will make them unique and different. We’ll check in with one character and move to another, so there’ll be vignettes to it and it will work towards a common plot that everyone is involved in, but ultimately, I think Civil War is a taste of the direction we’ll go in.”
Are you excited for the Russos' future ventures into the MCU? Be sure to check out the full video below!
Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo and from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability. With an all-star cast that includes Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Emily VanCamp, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, with William Hurt, and Martin Freeman, Captain America: Civil War is scheduled for release on May 6, 2016.