When we last saw the heroic Avengers in 2018’s “Infinity War,” we were all stunned by the devastating final minutes, in which evil Thanos (Josh Brolin) got a hold of all six of the Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers, causing half of the world’s population to be killed. Many of the key MCU players, including Spider-Man, were thus, supposedly, wasted off into a barrage of grim apocalyptic dust. Of course, this being Marvel and Disney, there was absolutely no way this could conceivably be the way the 22-movie MCU ended. And so, here we are with “Avengers: Endgame,” which opens where we last left off: the infamous “Snap.”
Read more‘Avengers: Endgame' Will Be Over Three Hours Long, Marvel's Longest Runtime
Make sure to go to bathroom before you watch “Avengers: Endgame,” especially if you have a sensitive bladder. If the 149 minutes of last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War” was the record-setter for a Marvel movie, that number will soon be broken by its follow-up which clocks in at 182 minutes. The news was confirmed by Fandango,
‘Winter Soldier’ Actor Frank Grillo Says Next Captain America Could Be Person Of Color
Speaking to Larry King on “Larry King Now,” actor Frank Grillo mentioned that next Captain America could be a woman or a Person of Color. Although not entirely sure what Marvel Studios has planned for the Cap. he did manage to sneak some insider info saying “there have been rumors that Captain America could be African American. It could be a woman. You know? So, they’re looking.”
I'm betting the farm that, if they do go this route, Anthony Mackie will be sought to play Captain America. He currently plays Sam Wilson, aka Falcon and has starred in two previous ‘Captain America’ films, as well as “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” Sam Wilson has been Captain America in the comic books, recently taking over for Steve Rogers after the character stepped down. Suffice to say, odds are with Mackie to garner the much-coveted role at the moment.
The Russos Say They Are Probably Done With The MCU After ‘Avengers' Films
If it weren't for the Russos, I just don't think Captain America would be as popular a character in the MCU. I mean, after all, it looked like Marvel and Disney seemed to want to bank on Robert Downey Jr.s Iron Man as the driving force of the Avengers.
However, after the slight but amusing "Captain America: The First Avenger" directed by "Jumanji" helmer Joe Johnston, Marvel Head Kevin Feige quickly switched directions for Cap and hired Joe and Anthony Russo to helm "The Winter Soldier." That film was a game-changer for the genre, and the closest to near cinematic heaven a superhero has come since Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy. The follow-up "Civil War," a film that, by all accounts, was an Avengers affair, but much better, sealed the deal that the Russos were the go-to guys for Feige. No surprise then that he hired them to direct the last two movies of the MCU, this week's released "Infinity War" and next year's as of yet untitled sequel.
Going back to the transition between "The First Avenger" and "The Winter Soldier." What a drastic change that was for Marvel. They were still trying to find their own identity, relying on what Favreau did with "Iron Man" and, by all accounts, "The First Avenger" is an ok film, but, when viewed again today, it feels much more like a DCEU film than any Marvel film we've come to expect the last 7 years or so.
"The Winter Soldier" really changed the game; It changed the style, the tone, the seriousness, hell, the Russos even decided to bring a cinematic feel to "The Winter Soldier" by heavily borrowing from the 1970's political thriller and not even being subtle about their affection for it by hiring Robert Redford who starred in one of the very best of that genre in the 1970s: "The Three Days of the Condor."
And so The Russos, who only directed two other films before being hired for "The Winter Soldier," the sligth but amusing "Welcome to Collinwood," and the God awful "You, Me and Dupree," have found a niche for the aciton-thriller and have become the two hottest filmmakers in American studio filmmaking. With their MCU almost done, I was wondering, what's next for them?
According to an interview with Empire, the brothers are adamant at their next project not being a Marvel movie.
“The next film that we will direct will most likely be for our company, and most likely be a tentpole,” the Russos said. “[Christopher] Markus and [Stephen] McFeely have come on board in a very unique capacity, as what we’re calling Co-Presidents of Story. We’ve been developing inside the studio system for many years, inside networks, and we know what works about them and what doesn’t work about them.”
There it is, folks. Russos not returning to the MCU, for now.