Avengers: Infinity War Co-Writer Says it Almost Didn’t End That Way

Cliffhangers are losing their power on TV shows. Something shocking may happen, but bingeing has allowed us to fly straight to the resolution in the next episode. Movies, however, are picking up that power. One of the most shocking cliffhangers in a film franchise was irrefutably Avengers: Infinity War.

A lot of momentum was building before the Avengers finally faced off with Thanos. A decade of character development and strength in numbers resulted in one of the biggest defeats in movie history. We had to wait a year for resolution of the big snap, but now the time is almost here. The snap that changed the game may seem like one of the biggest developments in modern cinema, but it would still be unknown to us if things had gone according to plan. Infinity War co-writer Stephen McFeely revealed to Empire magazine that the great disintegration was almost pushed out by other plot points.

“We had so much story in those early drafts of Infinity War that, if anything, we thought we maybe shouldn’t do The Snap until the end of act one of Endgame,” he said.

That moment probably wouldn’t have had the impact it did if there was still more than an hour left on the clock before the movie ended. Now, it will take a full film to resolve the story arc, rather than just half of one. Even though it played out in a stunning and impactful way, even Marvel Studios Kevin Feige was feeling the pressure.

“I was a hundred percent confident in that ending until about the Monday before release,” Feige revealed to Empire. “Then I started to get really nervous. It was like, ‘Wait a minute: what have we done?’ For years, leading up to the release of that ending, people were going, ‘These movies are predictable. The good guy always wins.’ And for years I was thinking, ‘Just wait.'”

That’s a remarkable admission and also interesting to hear the gamble Feige felt like he was taking. It definitely changed the course of the franchise and set us on a new path. Even if things are rectified, it’s almost certainly not without consequence. Be ready to make some sacrifices when Thanos returns.

Avengers: Endgame settles things once and for all on April 26.

Featured Image: Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War. Courtesy Marvel Studios.