AVENGERS: ENDGAME

By Erin

As we all know by now, the grave course of events set in motion by Thanos wiped out half the universe and fractured the Avengers ranks, compelling the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studios’ grand conclusion to twenty-two films, “Avengers: Endgame.” Kevin Feige produces “Avengers: Endgame,” and Anthony and Joe Russo are the directors. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo, Trinh Tran, Jon Favreau, James Gunn and Stan Lee are the executive producers, and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay. Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” is in U.S. theaters on April 26, 2019!

The press junket for the film took place a few weekends ago in Los Angeles. Do you notice something missing here? So many empty seats…The seats were left open for our fallen heroes. Heroes such as Black Panther, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Bucky Barnes, Gamora, and Star-Lord to name a few. It was a weird, eerie feeling at the junket with so many missing. Can you say awkward? Those that survived the snap were here. Here is who was in attendance!

· Robert Downey Jr. (“Tony Stark / Iron-Man”)

· Chris Evans (“Steve Rogers / Captain America”)

· Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”)

· Scarlett Johansson (“Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow”)

· Mark Ruffalo (“Bruce Banner / The Hulk”)

· Jeremy Renner (“Clint Baron / Hawkeye”)

· Brie Larson (“Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel”)

· Don Cheadle (“James Rhodes / War Machine”)

· Paul Rudd (“Scott Lang / Ant-Man”)

· Karen Gillan (“Nebula”)

· Danai Gurira (“Okoye”)

· Directors Anthony & Joe Russo

· Producer Kevin Feige

Moderator: Jon Favreau

None of us had seen the movie yet and in order to not give out any spoilers, most of the questions were about what being part of the Avengers has meant to the cast and other questions totally not related to the film.

Here are some other interesting things we learned.

Kevin Feige thought that what’s special about the film is all the actors on this stage, all the actors who are not on this stage. The family that has come together this decade and the fact that, Robert said it so well in the trailer, part of the journey is the end. Four or five years ago, we all started talking about doing something at every turn including the first Iron Man film. We talked about, how can we do something that’s never been done before. What if a super hero outs his identity at the very last shot of the movie? We can’t do that? No one does that. You can’t do that. What would we do next time? I don’t know. Let’s do it. Four or five years ago, we talked about, what haven’t we seen in films based on comic characters? We haven’t seen an ending. A definitive conclusion to an overall saga. So that’s why it’s called End Game and why I think it’s very, very, very special.

Scarlett Johansson shared that the best part of playing Black Widow during the years is seeing how much the character has evolved since her first appearance in “Iron Man 2.” Black Widow first started as a sort of sexy secretary with a skill set on the side.

Mark Ruffalo thought there was a sadness to this press conference. He said, “It’s the family you wish you had, in a way. There’s something very bittersweet about this moment. As actors, we’re like vagabonds. We kind of bounce around. We have these intense relationships and then you don’t see anybody until you get nominated for something or you’re nominated in something and you end up at an awards ceremony.”

Chris Hemsworth was asked about his thoughts on being Thor. “The first time that the Marvel Universe came into my universe back in Australia, I was sitting there. I would have been just straight out of high school and watching Iron Man 1 and thinking the same thing. Thinking oh my God, imagine, I wish I could be a part of that world. Then a few years on, getting cast in it, as Thor and having the opportunity to embark on this thing, thinking was this film even going to make it past DVD? Or make to the cinemas? Or was I going to be recast and all those sort of questions. I think the answer to the question, what made is so special for me was just the different people I was able to work with. From Kenneth Brannagh to, that first film, was really sort of completely in his hands. He was basically willing to do whatever it takes and wherever he needed me to go for the character. Then through the films with each director and in each different cast member, I would learn something different from them. By the time about Ragnarok, I felt like I finally had enough sort of confidence to go okay. What is it that I could possibly bring to this? And then have this great collaboration with Taika. We really decided to do something different to see how we could make it unexpected and unique. Then I had been calling Joe and Anthony and saying look, I’ve got this new version of Thor that we’ve just shot. I want to continue that version. I don’t want to do the old version. He said we’ve got an even newer version for you. And it was. Then as was this film here. It’s just about the people that’s made it so special and I think unique each time with any of our characters. Everybody you get to interact with. And the fact that we’re all willing to be open to what new possibilities lie ahead of these franchises and these characters. And it’s been a pretty remarkable journey.

Karen Gillan said, “It’s maybe safe to say she (Nebula) suffers from some daddy issues because her dad is Thanos, so who wouldn’t? I’m excited for her to face the source of this abuse.”

Brie Larson said, “I had to stumble and figure out who this character was, with no script for this and no script for Captain Marvel, and perform for the first time in front of legends”. In case you didn’t know Captain Marvel was shot after Avengers: Endgame.

Anthony Russo said that “We are very committed to the ending of that movie. We think that stories lose their meaning and relevance and resonance unless there are real stakes.”

Avengers: Endgame will close out Marvel’s Infinity Saga, which comprises of 22 films. Director Joe Russo said, “With Endgame, we get to finish off one of the grandest experiments in movie history. What we’re hoping for is that people feel satisfied with the conclusion.”

Afterwards we got to view all of the Avengers Costumes from the film.

Then there was also all the cool new merchandise on display for us to view. I love all the products, clothing, books, and toys they have come out with!