For the time being,
Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo are busy working on projects outside of the MCU, but that doesn't mean they're done with this shared world for good.
During an interview at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the filmmakers were asked what would bring them back to Marvel Studios and Joe was quick to name some of the characters they would jump at the chance to work on following the recent Disney/Fox merger.
"I grew on up [John] Byrne's X-Men run," he said.
"Ben Grimm was a favorite character growing up, the Thing. And Fantastic Four is now in the Marvel fold. There's a lot. Silver Surfer is an amazing character. Going really big in cosmic would be a lot of fun. So there's a lot of things that could attract us." Needless to say, both the
X-Men and
Fantastic Four franchises would be safe in their hands.
As for what sort of project they hope to tackle, it doesn't sound like they're overly interested in working on any of the shows on Disney+. Instead, the Russos would rather take the helm of another multi-movie arc which plays out on an epic scale over a number of years.
"I think after you go on the journey that we went on –—because there is a comprehensive narrative, an overarching story from Winter Soldier all the way to the end of Endgame that involves Tony and Cap, through Civil War, through Infinity War — I think that scale of ambition in storytelling is a bug that's bit us," Joe continued.
"And we're compelled to tell more stories on that scale, with that sort of years-long ambition to them."
"I mean, look, working with Kevin [Feige] and Louis D'Esposito and Victoria Alonzo has been the most rewarding collaboration we've had in our entire career. They're like family to us now. We're all very, very close to one another, and we miss each other," he added with a laugh. "So I'm sure we'll find something that we can do together soon."
Which Marvel Cinematic Universe project would you like to see the Russos tackle next?
Have some unanswered questions about Avengers: Endgame?
Find the answers from Joe Russo in the Q&A below!
Why Didn't Doctor Strange Just Cut Off Thanos' Hand?
In both
Infinity War and
Endgame, Earth's Mightiest Heroes struggle to remove the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos' hand so why not just chop his arms off as Thor did and stop him from using it altogether? After all, surely Doctor Strange could have used his powers to do so?
"Thanos' skin is almost impenetrable, we don't know whether Doctor Strange had the capability to do it," the filmmaker explains.
"If he failed to cut it on time, Thanos would still able to do the snap. Doctor Strange realized this issue during his millions of test runs."
That's a solid explanation, and the Sorcerer Supreme cutting off the Mad Titan's arms would have resulted in a very different movie.
Will Black Widow Be Resurrected When The Soul Stone Is Returned?
There's been some confusion about whether returning the Soul Stone to Vormir will resurrect the person who sacrificed themselves. While that's not possible for Gamora, there's been some speculation that Black Widow will return, especially as she has a solo film arriving in theaters next year.
Unfortunately for fans of the character, the door is definitely closed on Natasha's present day return.
"[The] process is irreversible," Russo says.
"Even if you have returned it to its original location, you wouldn't be able to get the person back. In fact, it's not really returning the stone, more like put it back properly. The tribute soul for the soul stone will forever be sealed in that place, therefore Black Widow is gone forever."
How They Made Thor Fat And Steve Rogers Old
Asked about the process of making the hunky Chris Hemsworth look like a fat drunkard, Russo explained that there was a good reason for that transformation while also shedding some light on how he was transformed.
"It was mostly CG'd. Thor suffered more loss than anyone else, he has been living in constant pain and regret."
As for Captain America's transformation into an old man, he added:
"95% CG, 5% make up. But the voice was 100% Evans, no modification for that."
Why They Chose Iron Man To Wield The Infinity Stones
When it comes to making the ultimate sacrifice to stop Thanos, it's Iron Man who manages to wield the power of the Infinity Stones as he turns the Mad Titan and his entire army to ash.
The question is, why was Tony Stark the one chosen by the Russo Brothers to take the fall?
"Thor in this movie couldn't do it, only Hulk was strong enough to do the snap without dying. We are still not sure whether Captain Marvel can also withstand all the power of Infinity Stones at once. The reason we choose to let Iron Man do it in the end was because he was the closest one to Thanos at the time. In all the futures Doctor Strange foresee, Iron Man was the only one who could get close to Thanos and do the snap. People usually think the death of a hero is a horrible tragedy. But we think this is different. When his death was able to bring back hope, to save half of the universe, then his death was powerful and meaningful. We shouldn't feel too sad or angry about it."
In other words, Doctor Strange always knew that Iron Man's story would end this way, hence why he raised a finger during the final battle to make it clear this was that one possible future.
What Year Was Steve Rogers Dancing With Peggy Carter?
Avengers: Endgame wraps up with Steve Rogers finally sharing a dance with Peggy Carter, and it appears as if that takes place during World War II. We know that she ultimately gets married to someone who isn't Steve, though, so what exactly does that mean?
"We can't answer it for now," Joe said, "
this is a story that happened in an alternate reality. Maybe it will be revealed in the future." In other words, this confirms that the life Steve lived was in another timeline and while he may have spent his life with a Peggy, the one we know still lived out her life with someone else before passing away during the events of
Captain America: Civil War.
Were There Two Captain Americas In The Same Timeline?
So, if Steve Rogers ended up in a new timeline, that must mean there was another Captain America in that world who either stayed in the ice or was still discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2011 while our Cap grew old. However, it's hard to believe he remained inactive during that time and Joe Russo went to shed some light on how this apparent time paradox worked.
"To me, CA's action in the end wasn't the fact he wanted to change anything, it's more like me has made a choice. He chose to go back to past and lived with the one he loved for the rest of his life. The time travel in this movie created an alternate reality. He lived a completely different life in that world. We don't know how exactly his life turned out, but I'd like to believe he still helped many others when they were needed in that world.
"Yes, there were two CA in that reality, it's just like what Hulk said, what happened in the past has already happened. If you go back to past, you simply created a new reality. The characters in this movie created new timeline when they went back to the past, but it had no effect to the prime universe. What happened in the past 22 movies was still canon."
Did Captain America Meet The Red Skull On Vormir?
The Red Skull appeared in both
Avengers: Infinity War and
Avengers: Endgame, but we never got to see the former HYDRA leader interact with Captain America and that's disappointed many fans.
The question is, when Steve Rogers travelled back in time, did he finally comes face to face with his old foe? According to Russo, if they did meet, it may not have played out the way you might think.
"Red Skull would probably put the soul stone back to its location, and wait for the next unfortunate stone seeker to make a sacrifice. Cap and Red Skull probably won't fight. It's because it's his mission to return the stone to its original place. The Red Skull is also no longer the same Red Skull from FA. He is more like a ghost, you could almost say he's a completely different entity now. He only exists to guard the stone, his past conscious may or may not exist anymore."
How Did Thanos Bring His Army Into The Future?
Thanos may have got his hands on Nebula's Pym Particles, but how did the Mad Titan figure out how to use them and then transport both himself and his entire army into the future?
"There is a guy called Maw in his army, he was a great wizard. Thanos himself was a brilliant genius as well. Those two easily reverse engineered and mass produced Pym Particles."
Before you get too excited about those Pym Particles factoring into future movies, bear in mind that Thanos, his army, and his ship were all wiped out when Iron Man snapped his fingers.
Could The Time Stone Have Been Used To Bring Iron Man Back?
Thanos used the Time Stone to undo The Vision's death at the hands of the Scarlet Witch, so why couldn't The Avengers bring back Iron Man? Well, it's a nice idea but doing so would have also resurrected Thanos and his army which would have put the heroes straight back to square one.
"It's because even if you save Iron Man, it will still not change the fact that Thanos will eventually win the war," Russo confirms.
"Among the 14 million possibilities that Doctor Strange has seen, Iron Man's sacrifice is a must for that one win scenario."
What Does The Five-Year Time-Jump Mean For The Dusted Characters?
The five-year time-jump isn't undone at the end of
Avengers: Endgame so what does that mean for the characters who weren't dusted? Are half the people Peter Parker went to school with now five years his senior? Apparently so, according to the director.
"Yes, those people that were lucky to survive the snap are 5 years older than the people who just got back. The reason Spider Man saw his friend again in high school at the end was simply because his friends were unfortunately also dusted like Spider Man was. Of course, there are people in his grade who didn't die and they are probably already in colleges by now.
"To those dusted people, they had no conscious in these past 5 years. They didn't know what happened. It's as if they had just woke up from a long sleep. The only one who was aware about how many years has passed was Doctor Strange, because he has already seen that when he was time mediating on Titan. Parker's reunion with Ned was a touching moment. There are also people whom indeed moved on but suddenly was reunited with their lost ones. Yeah it's kind a complicated world now."
Did That Mouse Save The Universe?
Something everyone is overlooking is the fact that if that mouse hadn't walked across the control panel of the Quantum Tunnel in Scott Lang's van, he would have remained in the Quantum Realm and the universe would still be down half of all life in existence.
Now, Russo has jokingly made it clear that we should all be very grateful about that mouse's actions in the movie!
"Yes, the MOUSE SAVED THE UNIVERSE. Among the many realities in those 14 millions possible futures Doctor Strange foresee, the mouse failed to press button and thus the heroes failed in those futures."
How Exactly Did Time-Travel Work In Avengers: Endgame?
After confirming that the movie doesn't take place in a time loop, Russo added that
"Both Ancient One and Hulk were right. You can't change the future by simply going back to past. But it's possible to create a different alternate future. It's not butterfly effect."
"Every decision you made in the past could potentially create a new timeline," he continues.
"For example, the old Cap at the end movie, he lived his married life in a different universe from the main one. He had to make another jump back to the main universe at the end to give the shield to Sam."
That definitely opens the door to a lot of exciting storytelling possibilities moving forward.
What Was Up With That Easter Egg At The End Of The Credits?
Avengers: Endgame didn't feature any post-credits scenes but if you stayed right to the end of the credits, you would have heard the noise of Iron Man creating his armour way back in the 2008 movie. Was that just a tribute or a way of teasing his return?
"It was our way to say goodbye to him," Joe says, putting an end to a number of fan theories which have done the rounds since the weekend.
Why Was Harley Keener At Iron Man's Funeral?
After a memorable appearance in
Iron Man 3, Harley Keener returns for
Avengers: Endgame as one of the people who attend Tony Stark's funeral. Was there a reason for that, though, or was it just a neat little Easter Eggs for longtime fans?
"We just feel that he should participate in Iron Man's funeral," the filmmaker confirms.
"As for whether he will appear again in future, who knows."
Here's Why Black Widow Didn't Get A Funeral
Everyone came together for Iron Man's funeral but where was Black Widow's sendoff?
"Did you forget when the heroes where mourning for her after when they returned from past?" Russo asks in response to that.
"Maybe her funeral happened off screen. Maybe it will be shown in future installment, because there are still tons of stories in MCU that are waiting to be tell."