- We're breaking down the 28 details revealed
in the Avengers: Endgame commentary.
Avengers: Endgame finally dropped on digital this week,
and along with the movie, fans got their hands
on a ton of extras, deleted scenes,
and of course, the all important commentary track.
Both the directing duo, The Russo Brothers,
and the writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely,
were on hand to give the inside scoop
on unanswered questions, reveal surprising trivia
and Easter eggs, and fill in some plot holes
that had been uncovered by diehard Marvel heads.
And boy, howdy, there was a lot to be learned.
So we're breaking down the 28 details discovered
in the Avengers: Endgame commentary.
Let's start off with one of the newest members
of the Avengers: Captain Marvel.
There was a bit of a gap in between the first time
we saw Carol with The Avengers in the post-credit scene
for Captain Marvel and her first appearance
in Avengers: Endgame when she brings down
the Guardian ship carrying Tony and Nebula from space.
Many fans were wondering how Captain Marvel
was able to find this ship, and according to the Russo's,
off screen, she was able to locate the ship
via a homing beacon that had been activated
onboard the Benitar and rescue its wayward passengers.
And speaking of one of those wayward passengers, Tony Stark.
What did we learn from the Russo's about the first member
of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Well, grab a tissue box because we learned a lot more
about his death.
First, the Russo's revealed that the hologram message
Tony is leaving for Pepper in the beginning of the film
was a way to establish how his eulogy would be delivered
at Avengers: Endgame's end.
It's a somewhat basic use of foreshadowing,
but it did turn out to be pretty effective.
As for that ending of his, the Russo's
also gave the inside scoops about Tony's final moments
in Avengers: Endgame.
Firstly, some fans were left scratching their heads
about how exactly Tony was able
to remove the Infinity Stones from the gauntlet
and then swap them into his version of the glove.
Well, per the Russo's, both the gauntlet
and Tony's suit were built using nano tech
and could communicate with each other,
thus facilitating the switch.
We also learned exactly where and when the iconic,
"I am Iron Man," line was shot.
Apparently, that was the last scene filmed
during reshoots and it contains a special connection
for star, Robert Downey, Jr.
The scene was shot at Hollywood's Raleigh Studios,
which is right next to where RDJ shot his first screen test
for the first Iron Man, way back before that film
went into production.
We know Avengers: Endgame was all about closing loops,
and we have to admit, this is a pretty sweet bit
of coincidence and closure.
But let's move onto everyone's favorite purple-pants'd
Green Goliath, The Hulk.
When we are eventually introduced to the new
and improved Smart Hulk, this is one
of the Russo's favorite Easter eggs.
Specifically, that The Hulk is munching
on a certain Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor
that has been made in his name.
- Hunk-A-Hulk-A-Burning Fudge is our favorite.
- While we know Hunk-A-Hulk-A-Burning Fudge
was just made up for The Avengers movies,
Ben and Jerry's should really consider
doing a limited release. - It's not bad.
- A bit chalky. - Speaking of the Smart Hulk's
debut, while this was something we did find out
from the screenwriters at Comic-Con,
it is confirmed in the commentary
that Smart Hulk's debut was actually filmed
and set for Infinity War.
You may remember Banner's constant struggle with Hulk
during the film, well, originally,
it culminated with the two reaching a compromise
by merging together as Smart Hulk
and then bursting out of the Hulkbuster armor,
which is why we have that infamous trailer shot
of Hulk running alongside the rest of the Avengers
in Infinity War, after which Smart Hulk
takes on Cull Obsidian and obliterates him.
However, during test screenings, it became apparent
the scene didn't work.
Writer Stephen McFeely reveals, "It was pretty clear
"that the movie could not handle this weird success.
"The movie needed to just stay in its succession
"of losses in the third act,
"which meant some hustling on the part
"of VFX late in the game."
That certainly explains why we had the weird
disembodied Ruffalo head on the Hulkbuster armor.
Now, let's talk a little about The Hulk's one time
love interest and fellow Avenger, Natasha Romanoff.
We didn't learn a ton about Black Widow
in the commentary for Avengers: Endgame,
but the Russo's did make a connection
between Nat's role in the beginning of Endgame
and Clint Barton's role to Natasha
before 2012's The Avengers.
In the commentary, the Russo's explained
that Natasha going to Tokyo to find Clint
is meant to evoke how Clint pulled Natasha
out of being a Russian agent in her backstory.
But from her backstory to her heroic end,
the Russo's also divulged some details about Red Skull
and where he'd go after Nat's sacrifice
and the Soul Stone was removed from Vormir.
The writers and directors couldn't come
to a conclusion answer, but they did acknowledge
that Captain America would have an encounter
with Red Skull when Cap returns with the Soul Stone
to close that loop.
However, they were unable to agree
on whether or not Red Skull would be summoned
back to Vormir after he had been freed.
On the subjects of the events of Vormir,
let's break down what we learned about Hawkeye.
One of the biggest things fans we wondering
after the release of Avengers: Infinity War was:
where was Hawkeye?
Clint Barton is a founding member of the MCU version
of The Avengers so why was he sitting the big battle
in Wakanda out?
Did he just take the wrong day off?
While we knew that Ant-Man and Hawkeye were both
under house arrest for their actions in Germany
during the events of Captain America: Civil War,
fans expected him to show up in the third Avengers flick,
if only for a moment.
So when he didn't, people were left scratching their heads.
Well, it turns out that first scene in Endgame
with Hawkeye's family turning to dust
before they even got a chance
to eat those hotdogs with mayo,
was originally meant for Infinity War.
But since the dusting sequence in Infinity War
was already cutting across so many characters,
the Russo's decided it would be too disorienting
to add in the Barton family just for that moment.
And we have to admit, giving that scene room to breathe
at the beginning of Endgame was probably the right decision
since it opened the movie with such an emotional punch
to the gut.
Of course, Hawkeye wasn't the only one going
through some family issues.
Thor also really went through some (bleep) in Infinity War
and Endgame, from seeing his brother murdered
before her very eyes, to feeling he failed
to save half of the entire universe,
to getting to see his BFF Mjolnir and mother alive again.
The Russo's revealed that when Thor and Rocket
traveled back in time and space to Asgard,
for which the real life Durham Cathedral in England
was the stand-in, the entire sequence was filmed
during the production of Avengers: Infinity War,
with the intention that it wouldn't used
until Avengers: Endgame.
It's also reconfirmed that the scene of Natalie Portman
as Jane Foster was an outtake from Thor: The Dark World
with Rocket Raccoon digitally added in.
And where would Thor be without his roommates,
Korg and Miek?
Joe Russo compares that living situation
to a BBC sitcom that he'd love to see.
As for Thor cracking open a cold one with the boys,
the creative team behind Endgame said,
"I'm also very fond of the fact
"that the magical weapon he took the entire last movie
"to get a hold of is now a bottle opener."
And what about Thanos, the big bad
who had been set up since the first Avengers flick in 2012?
Well, the question most fans had was:
how was the 2014 version able
to time travel into the future?
According to the Russo's, Thanos and Ebony Maw
are able to reverse engineer the Pym Particles
in Nebula's time travel suit, which allowed Thanos
and company to shrink their ship
and travel through time to attack the Avengers compound.
Side note: it's also revealed that the Avengers compound
was an abandoned conference room
at the Sheraton Hotel near the Atlanta airport.
As for Thanos's daughters, Stephen McFeely reveals
that Nebula doesn't know how exactly her sister, Gamora,
died, only that she didn't return and Thanos had the stone.
The only people who know exactly what happened
were the people who were there.
But on a more hopeful note, the creative team
behind Endgame left what happened to the time displaced
2014 Gamora at the end of the film intentionally vague.
If we had to guess, it's probably
so the next Guardians film can be about the team
searching for her.
And one more Thanos tidbit,
one of the shocking moments in the final battle
was when Thanos was able to destroy Cap's shield
with his own weapon, which seemed
like it shouldn't have been possible
with the shield being constructed from a Vibranium alloy.
Well, the answer for that is,
while Vibranium is the strongest element on Earth,
whatever makes up Thanos's sword is stronger.
And it is also speculated in the commentary
that like Thanos's gauntlet and Thor's Stormbreaker,
Peter Dinklage's Eitri could've forged the sword.
In the commentary, it's also revealed
that the white time travel suits we see
for a good portion of the film and on Endgame merchandise
were all made in CGI.
This probably made it easier to hide them in the trailers
to try to trip us up.
Thanks.
Moving onto some more cool special effects.
Stan Lee was given ye ol' de-aging treatment,
or what the filmmaker called being low-lud for his cameo.
If you don't remember, it was during the scene
when Tony Stark runs into his dad,
and we can see a cool 1970's Stan Lee yell at the army base,
"Make love, not war," out the car window.
Effects artists used images of Stan Lee in the '70s
as a guide for his new look.
It was also revealed that the introduction
of time travel in the film was first seeded
in the Ant-Man films.
This mention gave writers the opening
to fully incorporate time travel
without having to fully introduce the science
of quantum mechanics.
Staying on the Ant-Man train,
let's move onto the true hero of Endgame.
The one who saved everyone and probably
has the most important role in the entire film.
The rat who saved the universe!
The writers explained that the rat pushing the button
to save Scott Lang and in turn save the universe
was just a coincidence.
McFeely goes on to say, "Now we have a rule in writing
"that, you know, sort of coincidences.
"You're sort of allowed them in act one.
"A coincidence late in the movie is perhaps lazy.
"I'm delighted that a rat has saved the universe."
This puts to bed any theory about if there
was someone or some force that got the rat
to that exact spot to push the button.
It just kind of happened.
We wonder if Doctor Strange saw that rat saving the day
when he was looking at the 14,000,605 realities.
We also learned in the commentary
that the scene where Robert Redford shows up
after the events of the first Avengers film
reprising his role as Director Pierce
was, at the time, his last acting appearance
on the big screen.
While the commentary was shot awhile ago
when it was believed that his acting days were over,
we are now hearing rumors that Robert Redford
may play himself as the president of United States
in the upcoming HBO Watchmen series.
If so, this might still hold true,
as Endgame would still be his last film appearance.
And finally, we learned a ton about our favorite boy
in the red, white, and blue.
According to the creative team, at the end of the film,
Bucky did in fact know that Cap was going
to stay in the past to live out his life with Peggy
before he stepped on the platform,
which is why Bucky says he'll miss him,
even though he would see him in just a few seconds.
In fact, Cap's ending was also the first thing decided
when the team began planning out the events
of the two films.
Speaking of going to the past,
at the end when Cap is dancing with the love of his life,
Peggy Carter, it is revealed that we see them
merely minutes after Cap walks through the front door.
The creators point out that this is the reason
why the front door is open.
Another side note, it's also revealed
that 1970's Peggy Carter nearly didn't make the cut,
which would've been scientifically categorized
as (bleep) bull (bleep).
And lastly, one of the most controversial decisions
in the film, no, no, no, not the idea
to almost have Thanos walk in
with 2012's Captain America's severed head.
But the line, "America's ass."
The inclusion of America's ass lines
were surprisingly controversial.
The creators didn't know if it fit the tone of the film.
There was also the discussion of when Cap says it,
even though we know he's against using strong language.
- No else is gonna deal with the fact
that Cap just said, "Language?"
- The choice was approved with the reason being
that Cap has been through a lot in the five year gap
and got the green light to reflect on America' ass.
And you know what?
We're all the better for it.
(Amy sighs)
Okay, you have now been burdened with the knowledge
of the most important details we learned
from the Avengers: Endgame commentary.
It just goes to show
that even though the biggest movie ever made
has come and gone from theaters, twice,
it still has plenty of juice to give.
We'll probably be breaking this one down for a long time.
- Yeah, I know.
I know. - But what do you folks think?
What surprised you most from the commentary track?
What was your favorite Easter egg,
and which Avengers Ben and Jerry flavor
would you rather try?
Hunk-A-Hulk-A-Burning Fudge or Stark Raving Hazelnuts?
- It's not bad. - A bit chalky.
- Let's discuss.
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