The Russo Brothers Talk About CIVIL WAR, INFINITY WAR, And Revealing 'Spider-Man'
Recently, Joe and Anthony Russo showed up to IMAX HQ to talk about their upcoming Marvel films, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 & 2. The Russo brothers teased Spider-Man's reveal, the 67 characters in Infinity War, and much more...
Recently, Collider hosted a Q&A session with Directors Joe and Anthony Russo at IMAX HQ with the brothers taking any and all questions about their upcoming films. The Russo Brothers were delighted to answer questions and talked mostly about Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 & 2, how they could fix the Fantastic Four if they could, adding more to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Spider-Man deal, and much more! Here are some quotes that you'll recognize from previous articles that are featured in the video below.
When asked as to whether Civil War will be a much darker film for the MCU, Anthony Russo said this, "We refer to this movie, of course Winter Soldier was a political thriller and we think of Civil War as a psychological thriller. It's a complicated movie and it divides these people you have known to have become a team, but like Cap and Natasha in this movie they're evolving into sort of a surrogate family for each other." This doesn't mean there won't be comedy in the film. Joe Russo chimed in and revealed that Civil War will be bringing the laughs. "There is a good portion of the movie that is much funnier than Winter Soldier because there are characters in that film who are funnier, who come from worlds where the tone is more comedic.
Recently, the Russos revealed that the Infinity War films will contain 67 Marvel characters and Joe Russo took the time to clarify his previous statement. "I think I should clarify because I misspoke. It's actually 68 characters," said the director jokingly. Anthony Russo helped clarify it a bit more. "He was being figurative when he said that number and I think somebody took it as literal, but there's a lot of characters," said the director. "But look, the Infinity War is meant to be the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe up to that moment. It's very ambitious in its scope and it wants to take everything that you've seen before and sort of coalesce it into some climactic ending." Joe Russo continued to talk about how the characters aren't all taking the spotlight. "We're talking about a lot of characters. It's two films and these are huge scale movies and a lot of intersection is happening in these films. We're not talking about lead characters; we're just talking about people who make an appearance in the movie. Thanos has a very large agenda and these are big movies. It's of a scope that everyone wants to see in these films and that is demanded of the title 'Infinity War'."
Joe Russo then spoke a bit about the kind of Spider-Man we'll be seeing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how he'll be introduced. "We wrote a thirty page thesis for ourselves about Cap and what his attributes were, what his personality traits were, why he felt the way he felt about certain things, how we can modernize him, how we can alter his fighting style, which is really why that boat sequence is at the beginning of the movie (Winter Soldier). It's to illustrate that this isn't your dad's Captain America and we took a very similar approach to Spider-Man in Civil War." Joe Russo also decided to tease the date as to when they will be revealing Tom Holland's Spider-Man. "What's out release date? Is it like May 6th? I think May 6th is when you'll finally be able to see him." Looks like we'll have to be patient for a lot longer than we anticipated for our first look at Tom Holland as the MCU's Spider-Man. You can watch the Russo's talk about the MCU and much more in the video below. Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Joe and Anthony Russo:
01:16 - Joe Russo on playing a doctor in Winter Solider.
01:51 - Did they fight over anything while co-directing the movie?
02:59 - On working with Robert Redford; when he cooked for them.
05:00 - Finding their way in the industry with help from Slamdance; Redford is very lo-fi and traditional.
06:37 - Delivering exposition, particularly in the bunker scene and the Zola scene.
10:20 - Working on the action set pieces and making sure they stand out.
12:15 - What they took away from the critical and commercial success of Winter Solider that they brought to Civil War.
15:25 - Will Civil War be a darker movie?
17:15 - How did they react when they found out they were going to get the opportunity to include Spider-Man?
19:05 - The status of Civil War; where are they in the editing process?
20:15 - They’re finishing up the score with Henry Jackman.
20:48 - Have they filmed their Civil War post-credit scene yet?
20:56 - Will there really be 67 characters in Infinity War?
23:01 - Where and when they’re filming those movies.
23:58 - Where are they in the scripting process and who will shoot Infinity War?
24:26 - Any chance we’ll see a Netflix character pop up in the films?
25:03 - The choice to shoot Infinity War with IMAX cameras.
26:10 - Incorporating important character beats within big action sequences.
27:48 - On working with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
30:23 - How they made the connection between Winter Solider and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so seamless.
31:53 - What they know about Doctor Strange.
32:36 - Do they work with the other Phase Three directors?
34:40 - What does “cut the check” mean?
35:28 - Is there a particular character that they’re most excited to incorporate in one of their upcoming movies, especially having been fans of the source material as kids?
37:26 - Do they know when they’ll unveil what Spider-Man looks like in Civil War?
37:59 - On the deal made between Marvel, Disney and Sony to use Spider-Man.
40:36 - How do they manage all the different departments and why Marvel is such a great team to be part of.
43:00 - On getting into the cosmic universe with the upcoming films; bringing a naturalism to the cosmic side.
45:40 - Is there anything about Winter Solider they wish they could change after seeing it again?
46:57 - The Easter egg you might have missed in the cemetery.
49:37 - Would they ever “fix” Fantastic Four if they had the chance?
49:27 - The challenge of dealing with rights issues; passion for the material versus passion for money.
50:37 - On the score of Winter Solider; their collaboration with Henry Jackman.
55:52 - Will they ever do anything with Serpent Society?
Captain America: Civil War hit theaters May 6, 2016.
“Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.