Avengers Infinity War and its sequel have been produced at a budget estimated to be greater than 500 million
Avengers Infinity War and its sequel have been produced at a budget estimated to be greater than $500 million. (YouTube)
A new video that highlights the ten-year journey of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest grossing film franchise in history, has been released one week ahead of the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the 19th film in the series and in many ways Marvel’s biggest movie ever.
The 4.5-minute video begins with an interview with Jon Favreau, the original architect of the MCU, who directed the first two Iron Man movies starring Robert Downey Jr, the man Marvel didn’t initially want to cast. Speaking three weeks before the release of the first Iron Man, Favreau seemed to be a loss for words. “It’s a very interesting time right now,” he said, “and boy, you don’t know what’s going to happen. I know that I am proud of it. I know that we have done everything we can. I really don’t know how people are going to react to it.”
Iron Man, released in 2008, and as we all know now, kick started the MCU. Downey Jr became a fan favourite for his portrayal of Tony Stark, and has become the de facto leader of the movies, both in front of and behind the camera.
But 10 years on, the MCU is not the same series we became fans of. It has branched out into new directions - it has even travelled to realms beyond our understanding. And through the course of the video, we hear from the men and women who took us there. Kevin Feige, the man who dreamt it all up, says that in the beginning, all he wanted was for the first Iron Man to succeed, and when it did, to bring different heroes together in one movie.
That movie was the first Avengers, released in 2012 and directed by Joss Whedon. Several of the people who speak in the video mark the release of the first Avengers as the turning point for the MCU. The film made over $1.5 billion at the box office, and validated everyone’s faith in these characters and films. As Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Chris Evans (Captain America) say, it was the moment they first believed that they were a part of something that meant a lot to fans.
And now all these characters will come together - some for the first time - in Avengers: Infinity War, the third Avengers movie and easily Marvel’s most ambitious film yet. “I don’t think this has ever happened before in cinematic history,” says Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Scarlet Witch in the films.
With the success of Black Panther, all eyes are turned towards Infinity War. Early estimates suggest that the film will open to over $200 million in the US, with some analysts even predicting a new record, which means that the film would have to make more than $247 million - the record set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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“It’s a cool experiment to be a part of. It’s epic and classical,” says Chadwick Boseman, star of Black Panther.
Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr, Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner (?), Samuel L Jackson, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd (?) and Tom Hiddleston.
Joe says there were no differences on the sets and they worked like a team. “There were no ego clashes. We were like a big happy family,” he adds.