Everything We Learned From The Russo Brothers About 'Infinity War', 'Avengers 4' And 'Star Wars'

The Russo Brothers recently visited the set of the Star Wars Disney+ series The Mandalorian, where they reunited with former MCU director (and current MCU actor) Jon Favreau. While the Russos were predictably tight-lipped about any specific details regarding the series, they did praise Favreau, and say that the series is "being shot in a way unlike any other TV show."

None of the actors in Infinity War actually had the entire script. Individuals who were in the film more than others had access to their scenes, and knew more than others, but in the end, the entire script remained a bit of a mystery. On top of all that, there was also fake scenes and redacted scenes to protect secrecy – one such fake scene involved Gamora throwing Thanos off the cliff in the Soul Stone sequence instead of the other way around.

There were ultimately three different drafts of Infinity War. One draft had Thanos as the narrator of the film, was non-linear in structure, and had backstories for the Black order. That script ran about 250 pages. Even though the narration didn't make it into the final film, having it written out gave them more insight into the character.

Another draft of the script opened after Thanos had already secured the Power Stone, but it felt like he had too many Infinity Stones to start. So it was instead decided to open with the attack on the ship, in the middle of his plan

As the scripting processes went on, the plot was simplified, made more linear, and allowed more of the character moments come through. The Russos had what they thought was a very tight script going into production, but were very open during filming, and changed some things on set.

The shooting schedule for Infinity War was complicated – but not so complicated that it lead to creative changes. Instead, it just made shooting scenes a bit trickier, and required workarounds. For instance: one side of a scene would be shot with a stand-in, and months later, the same scene would be shot from the other side with the other actor.

Captain America: The Winter Solider and Captain America: Civil War were both shot with mostly with three camera setups, while Infinity War was mostly shot with one camera setup. The three cameras facilitated the vérité look of the Captain America movies, but the Russos wanted Infinity War to look bigger.

The Russo Brothers learned from working in television that they like to move quickly, and try a lot of things – and they've taken that mentality to the editing room of their MCU movies. They edit many versions of a scene, structured in different ways. They also do something they refer to as "screen f'n", where once they get the structure of the movie down, they start removing frames from shots and try to fast track the pacing of the film. On top of all this, the Russos try to get things right in the scripting process, and that's why there isn't many deleted scenes on their Blu-ray releases. As the Russos tell it, they're very happy with their final cuts of their films, and consider them to be director's cuts.

That said, the Russos explored other ideas for the final shot – but Thanos smiling at the sunset was an idea they came to very early on, when the writers realized it was Thanos' movie. He was serving an idea larger than himself, and that's why Thanos is a hero in his own mind.

One surprise in Infinity War involved the return of Red Skull for the first time since Captain America: The First Avenger. As the Russos tell it, the character has been on a journey since the events of Captain America. He is now a slave to the stones, and he's a ghost (tough break). The Russos thought about using someone else in this scene other than Red Skull, but kept coming back to the character. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote First Avenger, fought for the character's appearance.

While Red Skull is back, the actor who originally played him – Hugo Weaving – is not. Weaving has gone on record in the past saying he has no desire to return to the MCU, but the Russos say he was asked to return and reprise the part. They wouldn't elaborate further, but it's safe to say Weaving said, "Thanks, but no thanks." Ross Marquand plays the character in Infinity War.

The late Stan Lee was always told about his particular cameo right before he came to set, and never turned down any of their cameos. Lee's running joke on set was: "Why do I always only get one line?"

Disney is bringing Marvel-based lands to their theme parks – "the new Super Hero-themed land will begin recruiting guests in 2020, with even more new experiences to follow. The Guardians of the Galaxy will be joined by Spider-Man and the Avengers in what will become a completely immersive Super Hero universe, furthering the evolution of Disney California Adventure park." So will the Russos have any input there? The filmmaking duo said they've been in a room with Disney Imagineers, giving a presentation about their films and explaining what's important to them, but they are not actively involved in the Disney parks rides. So, no.

Beta Ray Bill, the first being outside the Marvel's Norse universe deemed worthy to wield Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and the owner of Stormbreaker in the comics, was discussed as a possible character several times. But the Russos and the screenwriters could never work him into the story. Honestly, that's fine – Infinity War has approximately 50,000 characters, so Beta Ray Bill can sit this one out.

When asked about the possibility of Latino characters in the MCU, the Russo Brothers said they didn't want to spoil anything, but that they think we'll find the MCU will continue to diversify. This is a painfully vague answer, and while I get not wanting to offer spoilers, it seems way too wishy-washy, and I wish they had provided something more concrete. The Russos also said that Marvel is looking for "directors to come in with a strong point of view that is different from what they are thinking."

You have Soul Stone questions? The Russos have answers! Sort of. In their own words, the Soul Stone has the ability to "manipulate your soul and your essence of who you are." Thanos uses the Soul Stone to pull Doctor Strange out of his own body during the scene where Strange multiplies. Thanos also uses the soul stone to talk to Gamora.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was all set to ramp up production, and then all hell broke loss. Writer-director James Gunn was fired by Disney due to backlash involving some old, offensive tweets. This left the future of this particular franchise in doubt, and as of now, it's on indefinite hold. But that hold didn't cause any issues with Avengers 4, according to the Russos, because the film was already finished shooting when Vol. 3 was put on hold.