Avengers: Endgame Writers Discuss Ending Thor’s Arc, And His Potential Future

Avengers: Endgame Writers Discuss Ending Thor’s Arc, And His Potential Future

SPOILER WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. If you have not yet seen the film, read on at your own risk!

While Thor was one of the key characters who helped establish the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame leaves him in a very different place compared to some of the other Phase One heroes. Rather than getting a conclusive ending similar to Iron Man’s or Captain America’s, the God of Thunder is instead given a new beginning that will see him jet off into space for a new life full of cosmic adventures.

This may seem like a surprising direction for him, as many thought going into the film that Chris Hemsworth’s time with the franchise might be over, be there’s a very good reason for the choice – as I recently learned from Avengers: Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

I had the wonderful pleasure of recently interviewing the two filmmakers for CinemaBlend’s HeroBlend podcast, and one of the many subjects we touched upon in our discussion was where the new movie leaves Thor at the end. I specifically asked if there were ever versions of the script that had a bit more “finality” for the character, but Christopher Markus explained why that was a direction for him that they felt ultimately didn’t fit:

He has suffered so much. He's lost family - his mom, dad, brother, newly-found sister that he had the murder himself, Asgard itself. And then lost to Thanos. He lost his eyeball. Killing him seemed gratuitous almost. And from Ragnarok on, he is such a joyful presence, to have him fairly well-adjusted and moving forward is just like candy. It's like you want to see more of it.

Following up, Stephen McFeely added that while Avengers: Endgame may not specifically kill Thor or turn him into an old man, what is accomplished with the end of their film is the conclusion of a specific journey that he’s been on ever since Kenneth Branagh’s Thor back in 2011. Ever since we first met the big screen version of the hero he has maintained a strong connection to his homeworld, and following the defeat of Thanos he sees an opportunity for a significant life change. Said McFeely,

Think about the journey everyone's on, to be serious for a second. Steve goes from selflessness to self-interested, and Tony sort of does it generally in reverse. And what is Thor defined by in his first movie, right? It's ambition and obligation to Asgard and the crown, right? So what's that journey over five to seven movies, right? It's releasing that burden. It's giving that up and being the person he is supposed to be, not the one who he's meant to be.

The final scenes of Avengers: Endgame see Thor not only pass on the responsibilities of being king of New Asgard to Valkyrie, but also join a brand new family: the Guardians of the Galaxy. And while nothing has been confirmed as of yet regarding Chris Hemsworth’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what seems certain is that God of Thunder will have an entirely new outlook on life the next time we see him.

One thing that must have supported this choice for the hero is the fact that Chris Hemsworth’s perspective on playing Thor has changed greatly in recent years. The actor has gone on the record saying that he doesn’t love Thor: The Dark World (his word of choice: “Meh”), and admitted that for a time he was underwhelmed by what was being done with the character. That all changed, however, with the making of Thor: Ragnarok. Director Taika Waititi and screenwriter Eric Pearson crafted an entirely new kind of adventure for the hero, and in the making of it Hemsworth gained a brand new appreciation for the role.

This revitalization was something that Stephen McFeely directly referenced during our interview, noting that the choices made in Thor: Ragnarok very much supported the decisions that he made with Christopher Markus in the writing of Avengers: Endgame’s script:

We've given it a lot of thought, and I think a lot of it lines up, and partly, frankly, because Taika [Waititi] and Eric Pearson and Chris Hemsworth sort of reinvented him. There's a whole other delightful side to him that would be great to keep seeing.

Looking into the future, given where things end in the new blockbuster there is an assumption at large that Thor will have at least some kind of role to play in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – but it should be noted that the developments of Avengers: Endgame didn’t really come out of any kind of collaboration between the writers and Gunn. I specifically asked Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely if there had been discussions about Thor being with the Guardians, but I was surprised to learn that wasn’t really the case:

Christopher Markus: We did not talk much, to tell you the truth. We kind of just rolled it up in front of him and, yeah, I look forward to seeing what happens.

Stephen McFeely: That's right. I don't know. But I do think it becomes a nice... there's a lot of room for growth there, right? Now, again, I don't know what happens in Guardians [Of The Galaxy Vol. 3], but if they find [Gamora], that relationship is brand new. We the audience know what it could be, and there's a character that doesn't value it, or doesn't know, or whatever. I think there's some opportunity there.

This is only a small portion of my interview with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and you can hear the whole thing by listening to the latest episode of our HeroBlend podcast:

As of right now it isn’t entirely clear what will happen with Thor in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (new franchise announcements won’t be made until after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home), but you can be sure we’ll have all of the latest details for you as they become available.

The Russo Brothers Open Up About Gamora’s Avengers: Endgame Fate

The Russo Brothers Open Up About Gamora’s Avengers: Endgame Fate

MAJOR spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame has been in theaters for weeks, providing countless plot twists and major payoffs for the hardcore Marvel fandom. The Russo Brothers brought an end to the Infinity Saga, killing off beloved characters and bringing back everyone who got dusted by Thanos in Infinity War. But there's one hero's fate that's currently unclear: Zoe Saldana's Gamora.

Gamora perished in Infinity War not through the snap, but by Thanos killing her on Vormir in order to procure the Soul Stone. But the fans were delighted to see her return in Endgame, although it was the 2014 version of the character who was still serving Thanos. She ultimately united with current day Nebula to take the Mad Titan down, although she wasn't seen after the battle ended. Now The Russo Brothers have addressed the ambiguity of Gamora's fate, saying:

Joe: We don't know whether she was dusted or whether she survived. That's probably a question that Guardians [3] will answer.

Anthony: Quill doesn't know either.

Joe: I'm sure future films will answer that question.

Tricky, tricky. The Russo Brothers purposefully didn't reveal whether or not Tony dusted Gamora in the final moments of the Endgame battle. Although since she was so prominently featured in the epic battle and all-female moment, that fate would be a disservice to the character.

The Russo Brothers' comments to Business Insider help to get a glimpse behind the curtain of the MCU, and the co-directors' methodical way of filmmaking. Avengers: Endgame included just about every character imaginable, and the Russos had to juggle countless narratives. But Marvel characters also have their own franchises, so there was a tricky balance regarding how much ownership the brothers could take.

Because of this, Gamora's death in Infinity War it was truly a gut punch. And since she wasn't dusted by Thanos' snap, it didn't seem likely that she'd return from the dead once it was reversed. Luckily, time travel was a major macguffin in Endgame, and allowed for Zoe Saldana's signature Guardian to brought back to life.

Gamora had always hated Thanos, so it made sense that she would help out the future version of her sister, and try to stop him from getting the Infinity Stones again. This also reunited her with Peter Quill, although he was a total stranger to her. Gamora was last seen fighting alongside women of the MCU, as Captain Marvel got the Gauntlet through Thanos' army.

Related: How Does One Return The Soul Stone? We Asked The Avengers: Endgame Writers

The Russo Brothers' tease about Guardians 3 was set up during the final moments of Endgame, as Star-Lord was shown searching for Gamora's location back onboard The Benatar. Smart money says that's a major plot line in the upcoming threequel, as Gamora's family tries to find her. But since she doesn't know any of the motley crew besides Nebula, they'll be starting from scratch. That includes Peter Quill, who had finally broken down her walls and convinced the green girl to dance.

James Gunn is back behind the director's chair for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and has teased some big things for Rocket in the upcoming threequel. But he's no doubt got plans for every member of the group, including Gamora.

It's currently unclear when Guardians 3 will hit theaters, but you can watch Gamora and the rest in Avengers: Endgame now. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Triple Frontier Reviews Are In, Here’s What Critics Are Saying

Triple Frontier Reviews Are In, Here’s What Critics Are Saying

Whatever some famous director's might think of Netflix, the streaming service/film studio has put together a solid list of movie releases over the last few years. From fantasy blockbusters starring Will Smith to Oscar nominated dramas, Netflix has it all. The next big release from Netflix is the Ben Affleck-led Triple Frontier, and while it probably won't win any Oscars, the movie is likely to be worth checking out for everybody who has Netflix, so basically everybody.

Our own Michael Reyes gave Triple Frontier a solid four star score and thinks the movie does a solid job of blending the film's multiple genres into an enjoyably complete film.

As an action film, as well as a dramatic character study, Triple Frontier works as an extremely cohesive combination of two types of stories that usually don’t mesh together well.

At its core, Triple Frontier is the story of group of former vets of the same unit, played by Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, and Garrett Hedlund, decide to go on one last mission strictly for themselves, stealing from a drug kingpin. It's a military/heist movie, something that isn't exactly new to moviegoers, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work.

The review from Entertainment Weekly compares Triple Frontier, directed by J.C. Chandor, to the work of Peter Berg, though it claims Chandor's film has more nuance to it than the frequently nuance free works of Berg...

Chandor films their mission and its male-bonding lead-up using the Peter Berg playbook — you know, lots of backslapping peppered with military jargon. But Triple Frontier isn’t as cheesy and embarrassingly jingoistic as Berg’s films. It’s more ethically murky, especially when the haul they find at the kingpin’s compound turns out to be much, much bigger than they expected.

The biggest thing about Triple Frontier is likely the cast. A movie starring Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac being a Netflix production is still a big deal, even if the streaming service has had growing success wooing major performers and directors to the platform. Will Smith made Bright with the director of Suicide Squad only a couple years ago and following that we saw the likes of Sandra Bullock, and Alfonso Cuaron join him. Marten Scorsese has directed Robert De Niro for Netflix's upcoming The Irishman, and just typing those words still feels strange.

Understanding how these theatrical release films (Triple Frontier is in theaters for one week starting today before hitting Netflix next week) work on a streaming service is something everybody, from the industry to the viewers, is trying to figure out. For what it's worth, Slashfilm thinks Triple Frontier is a movie made for Netflix.

A film where big, angry men with scruffy facial hair strap on tactical vests and glower their way through one burst of violence to the next. It is, in a sense, the perfect Netflix movie. Something to stream from your bed in the dark after you’ve knocked back one too many beers.

While the majority of reviews for Triple Frontier are positive, it's certainly the case that none are necessarily glowing. Even among those that praise the film, there seems to be a feeling that there could have been more here then we ended up getting. It seems to want to be more than military dudes shooting guns, but doesn't necessarily get there. Although, if military dudes shooting guns is your thing, you'll likely enjoy this version of that.

Of course, there are some who are far from that kind. Variety feels that, in trying to be a smarter action movie, it ends up failing at being anything resembling smart, and ends up trying too hard, reventing it from being the dumb action movie that could have been equally enjoyable.

Yet I’m sorry, there’s a dullness at the core of Triple Frontier. We’ve seen these sorts of situations once too often, done tighter and better, with more surprise. And though Chandor has assembled an ace cast of aging machos, they’re working with stale crumbs of dialogue. The movie made me wish I was watching either a truly heady thriller (which this is not) or a zippier version of The Expendables.

This does go to show how different people can see the same movie in very different ways. One praises the film for being more "ethically murky" complimenting the movie for not simply being military gun porn, while another sort of wishes it had been closer to that, because it misses the mark at being anything more.

There are certainly audiences for both sorts of films, it will be interesting to see if this film, which seems to fall someplace in between will be able to find an audience. At the same time, everybody has Netflix right, so a lot of people could end up watching this one simply because it's new and available. When audiences do flock to Netflix's new releases the movies can see a viewership on par with some blockbusters.

For, THR, the problem with Triple Frontier is something a bit more fundamental. While the movie has an impressive cast, it fails to do anything impressive with them. All of the team members come across as being the same character and lack enough detail to let the audience understand or empathize with them.

Despite the heavy dose of action and numerous tense situations, this Netflix offering has trouble staying in high gear once it gets there and the characterizations remain one dimensional - the men all speak exactly the same way.

Triple Frontier may not be the next Roma, but then few movies will be. It's great that, just like any other theatrical movie studio, Netflix can create a wide variety of movies for a wide variety of audiences. With the massive user base that Netflix has there's a lot of people who like a lot of different movies. Triple Frontier clearly isn't every critic's cup of tea, but it looks like many might still enjoy it. If you're lucky enough to be in the right town you can see it in theaters now, otherwise, it hits Netflix next week.

Chris Hemsworth Welcomed Deadpool To The MCU In A Great Way

Chris Hemsworth Welcomed Deadpool To The MCU In A Great Way

This week the merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney became official. This makes Disney an even more powerful force in Hollywood than it was before, largely due to the catalog of characters and franchises it just took ownership of. One of those characters is Deadpool and now that he's joined the rest of his Marvel brethren, it seems they're all quite happy to have him on board. Chris Hemsworth seems especially happy, based on the way the Thor actor welcomed both the character and the actor behind him.

Chris Hemsworth shared a piece of fan art on Instagram which shows, what Hemsworth calls, the love child of Thor and Deadpool. It's really just the Merc with a Mouth wearing a funny piece of headgear and carrying a tiny little hammer, because one assumes he couldn't actually lift the full sized one. Also, it appears Deadpool has joined the Avengers, which, considering the trouble DP had with the X-Men, I'm going to guess is not going to go very well.

Looming behind Deadpool are those three little circles that symbolize his new lord and master. The film rights to the character are now back in the hands of Marvel, making him and the rest of Marvel's mutants all characters that could now potentially make their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While this is certainly expected to happen at some point, it's anybody's guess how it will all shake out. Unless somebody had been planning for this eventuality in advance, a movie that actually inserts Deadpool into a story with the Avengers is at least a couple of years away.

It's probably even further off because, while we have no idea what Marvel has in store for the next phase of the MCU, the studio has clearly been working on things and probably isn't looking to throw out all their work in order to start over and add in the X-Men. We could see an entire phase of the MCU, including several films over the next several years, come to pass before anything significant happens to bring these characters together on screen.

That doesn't mean we won't be seeing Deadpool sooner. His movies have been largely standalone stories anyway and they've also been incredibly successful. While the future of Deadpool and the status of the X-Force movie and/or Deadpool 3 hasn't been exactly clear, I would fully expect to see some sort of Ryan Reynolds Deadpool project move forward sooner rather than later. Why would you have this guys sit on the sidelines when there is clearly money to be made?

While Disney is already making a lot of changes on the business side of things following the merger, we probably won't hear a lot about plans on the content side until after the house is order behind the scenes. Though if we can get Taika Waititi to direct a Thor sequel co-starring Ryan Reynolds on the release schedule, I'm in.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Has Screened, Here Are The Early Reactions

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Has Screened, Here Are The Early Reactions

The summer movie season is officially here! Avengers: Endgame set one hell of a precedent, but there's no small amount of movies willing to rise up to take the crown for themselves. Working perfectly with my metaphor, one of those movies is Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which will see a titanic showdown between Godzilla and his arch-nemesis, King Ghidorah. Fans have eagerly been awaiting some kaiju mayhem and it sounds like they are getting their wish.

Early reactions for Godzilla: King of the Monsters are hitting the web and the verdict is almost unanimous: this movie rules. I'll let CinemaBlend's own official Twitter account speak for itself as we throw plenty of praise at the film's action.

It seems like most critics are in agreement over the sequel. If you are looking for non-stop, over-the-top, monster-fighting action, then King of the Monsters is exactly what you are looking for. With Godzilla, Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra, the movie has plenty of action to spare, according to Erik Davis from Fandango.

Those who were left disappointed by 2014's Godzilla will find plenty to love in the sequel. Fans and critics weren't too fond of Godzilla's first outing as there wasn't quite as much monster fighting as expected. The monsters are definitely the stars of the show here, says Andre Meadows of Black Nerd Comedy.

Meadows went on to say that the movie is so full of easter eggs that it's easy to tell the movie was made by people who love Godzilla.

King of the Monsters will have plenty of action, but the film also has a real respect for the Titans (what kaiju are called in the film). According to Paul Shirey from JoBlo, the sequel has a real passion for the Titans and there's no question they are the stars of the show.

Based on the critical reaction, King of the Monsters is exactly what you want from a summer blockbuster. It's loud, ambitious, and blows you away with action on an epic scale. Director Michael Dougherty brought his A-game for this one. With King of the Monsters currently projected to gross more than $50 million opening weekend, this could be one of the summer's most memorable flicks.

Thankfully, we don't have too much longer to wait until Godzilla: King of the Monsters stomps into theaters. The epic sequel arrives on May 31. To learn as much as you can about Godzilla and all his frenemies before then, here's what we know so far.

However, there's a lot more to look forward to this summer. You might be catching Detective Pikachu this weekend, but here's everything else that should be on your radar in our movie release guide. For more movie news, keep it right here at CinemaBlend.

New Avengers: Endgame Trailer Has Iron Man And Captain America Facing Thanos

New Avengers: Endgame Trailer Has Iron Man And Captain America Facing Thanos

The day has finally arrived, with Avengers: Endgame tickets going on sale today. But what would the occasion be without a brand new trailer to get the fans excited for the big finale to The Infinity Saga? Behold, a special look at the conflict to end all conflicts.

With the aftermath of Thanos’ Decimation taking its toll on the team, our surviving Avengers need to resort to desperate measures in order to defeat the Mad Titan. And those measures look like a return to space for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, complete with a reunion of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Seriously, after all of the drama that Captain America: Civil War stirred up, it’s nice to know that a galaxy-wide cataclysm is all it took to make these boys shake hands and make up.

They’re going to need it too, as Thanos is looking as dangerous as ever in Avengers: Endgame. A testament to the quiet menace that has always been given to the character, we finally see some setup for his return to the fray, after supposedly retiring to a quiet corner of the universe following his mass destruction. A little trash talk, a variant of “you missed me so much you came back,” and it’s off to the races for what looks like the largest movie battle of 2019. Are we sure that massive weapon we heard about isn’t just Thanos’s words?

You don’t even need to see any of the fight that’s about to take place to know that something serious is about to rock the arena of Avengers: Endgame. And as if the return of Iron Man and Captain America as a fighting duo wasn’t enough, it looks like this trailer is possibly telling us that Doctor Strange will be back on the team as well. So if this trailer is anything to go by, it looks like the resurrection of those who fell in Avengers: Infinity War will take place before this huge battle royale. For as much as we know about Avengers: Endgame, we didn’t know it was going to absolutely try to break our hearts even more than its predecessor.

It’s been a hell of a ride for Marvel Studios, with 22 films over what will be 11 years this May, and all have lead to the door step of Avengers: Endgame. It truly is a movie event so singular it could never have had another title. Which means that a movie like this needs to be filled with spectacle and heart wrenching moments, and there’s plenty of that in this clip. In addition to Cap telling Tony that he absolutely trusts him in battle, we see emotional reunions between Tony and Pepper, as well as Rocket and Nebula taking the time to bond. And of course, for those of you still stinging from the disappearance of Spider-Man, let Tony’s sad gaze at a photo with him and Peter Parker remind you of that pain this morning.

Avengers: Endgame tickets are on sale now, and will start showing as early as Thursday, 4/25. But if you’re looking to see something out of this world before then, take a look at the 2019 release schedule, and prepare yourself for adventure. Also, make sure you don’t miss a Marvel moment, by checking out the Phase 3 and 4 release schedule as well!

Ben Affleck Still Plans To Make A Sequel To The Accountant

Ben Affleck Still Plans To Make A Sequel To The Accountant

Ben Affleck has ridden some rocky blockbuster waves in recent years, but one film that was really an undeniable success arrived in the fall of 2016. Gavin O'Connor's The Accountant is one of the rare recent original action titles to actually perform really well at the box office, making $155.1 million globally on a $44 million budget. The performance was significant enough to immediately start some sequel chatter, and while we haven't heard much about the project in a minute, it's apparently a project that Affleck is still interested in pursuing.

It was last reported that The Accountant 2 was in the works with Gavin O'Connor returning to direct and Bill Dubuque (the original's screenwriter) taking care of the script, but that was in the summer of 2017. Nearly two year's worth of silence is quite a lot, but thankfully Ben Affleck has now provided us an update, via Collider - explaining that the film is definitely one that he wants to pursue:

Yeah, I hope so. I would love to. We’ve talked about kicking some ideas around, this last movie we just did. We talked to the studio and they seemed interested, and they kind of brought it up so, we’re looking to do that. I think it would be fun. I love Gavin, I love the movie I just did with him. I had a great experience and I love the character in The Accountant. I’d certainly be open to it.

The project that Ben Affleck is referring to is the film Torrance, which completed filming last year. A completely different kind of story and genre than The Accountant, the movie is a sports drama that follows a former star basketball player who tries to get his life back together by becoming the coach of the team at his old high school. The film is produced by Warner Bros. - the same studio behind Affleck and O'Connor's previous collaboration - and while a release date has not yet been announced, one can probably predict that we'll be seeing it come out some time in the fall.

As for The Accountant 2, it's actually a pretty exciting prospect, and right now could be a perfect project for Ben Affleck. Christian Wolff is a legitimately fascinating character - a public accountant with high-functioning autism who moonlights as an assassin - and the first movie really makes for a cool origin story. There are hundreds of stories that could be told with him going forward, and it could become a fun franchise role for the star.

For what it's worth, we might already have an inkling of a plot for the proposed sequel, as Gavin O'Connor talked out some ideas with me when I interviewed him about The Accountant back in 2016. Discussing potential story ideas, he put forward a really dark direction for the world in which Christian Wolff lives, saying,

In the second one, if we're ever fortunate to do it, I keep having this idea of a Catcher in the Rye kind of thing. He's surrounded by children, dealing with slavery and these kids that are sex slaves and things like that... If there's a way to deal with that subject matter and him saving children, that's something I'd be really interested in doing.

For now, though, The Accountant 2 merely exists in theory. Of course, if we get any more details about it you'll be sure to find them here on CinemaBlend.