There's no denying the box office juggernaut that is Avengers: Infinity War and for those that have seen it already, the ending is likely going to be burned in your brain until Avengers 4.
(As you might imagine, this story has major spoilers.)
Fans of the comics have always had a hunch supervillain Thanos would eventually collect all six Infinity Stones and carry out his plan to wipe out half of the universe, and this was something that writers Chris Markus and Stephen McFeely never once shied away from in the name of letting the good guys win. In a new interview with BuzzFeed, the pair share how they got to the film's ending. "This is the hero's journey for Thanos," said McFeely. "By the end of the hero's journey, our main character, our protagonist—at least, in this case—gets what he wants."
The writers also had to take on the task of figuring out where in the two films Thanos' population-cutting finger snap would fit in best, so the question wasn't if, but when. “Even if the end is a tragedy, we wanted it to be definitive,” said Markus. "To say, 'Oh my gosh, what's he going to do?! He's only got one [Infinity Stone] left! I wonder if he'll get the other one!' That just seemed like 'Tune in next week' jerking around."
Ultimately, they chose to go through with the devastating snap at the end of Infinity War, which will set the perfect stage for Avengers 4. Even the shocking deaths of over a dozen of Marvel's most beloved characters, from Black Panther to Spider-Man, are all about setting up the next film. “Some characters were better served in movie two after this event," said McFeely. "We were making some choices based on some characters we knew were going to leave us at the end of the first movie, so they got highlighted in the first movie."
And about that gasp-worthy ending? To say it made people emotional is an understatement, and the writers know it. "It really seemed to be a gut punch to people in a way that I didn't fully [realize]," said Markus. "Also…[the deaths are] real. I just want to tell you it’s real, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be able to move on to the next stage of grief."
With sequels slated for some of the same characters who turned to dust at the end of the film, it's likely that they will return in some way, but not in the way you might assume. "[Avengers 4] doesn’t do what you think it does. It is a different movie than you think it is," said Markus. "We broke your heart. Now we're going to blow your mind!"
Read the full interview here.
