How The Russos Make Sure Their Marvel Movies Feel Different From One To The Next

How The Russos Make Sure Their Marvel Movies Feel Different From One To The Next

Despite the fact that they started their Marvel Cinematic Universe journey with zero previous blockbuster experience, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have, to date, helmed three of the best films in the entire franchise. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War are individually absolutely outstanding pieces of big screen spectacle, and each one has made a distinct and separate impact on the Marvel world at large.

This isn’t easy for many reasons, but particularly because this is a brand that has created more than 20 movies in the last decade, and with each new release comes the demand to experience something fresh and brand new. For the Russos, however, there is a key way to getting that done, and they spoke with me about it this past weekend at the Los Angeles press day for the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. Said Joe Russo,

I think we always try to put psychological realism in our movies, and that's the one concept, if you go back and look at Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Infinity War, is there is a level of psychological realism beyond these fantastical costumes and fantastical circumstances that people are behaving in a way that feels psychologically truthful. And I think that tone is one of the ways that you can alter movies that are in a series from one another. It's one of the more significant ways you can do that. And trying to distinguish Endgame from Infinity War, I would certainly say that Endgame has a very different tone than Infinity War had.

Admittedly the Russos haven’t yet gone to the extreme of making a super fun, colorful adventure along the lines of Ant-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy, but there is definitely a noticeable gradient in the tone of their Marvel Cinematic Universe features. What’s more, there has also been a significant progression. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a dark movie, playing with the aesthetic of a 1970s conspiracy thriller, but things get significantly darker in Captain America: Civil War when our heroes turn on each other and eventually disband. And as melancholy as that film gets, it still can’t hold a candle to Avengers: Infinity War, which features one of the most devastating endings in blockbuster history.

This, of course, leads us to Avengers: Endgame, and keeping in mind the Russos’ past, their comments about the film are exceptionally curious. There’s been some expectation that the upcoming sequel would share tonal qualities with its predecessor, given that the lead characters are all trying to pick up the pieces of their world after half their friends turned to dust, but Joe Russo’s comments suggest otherwise. But what does “a very different tone” mean, exactly? Does it mean that it’s going even further into the darkness than what we’ve previously seen them do in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Or could it be that Avengers: Endgame is actually way more of a funny, fun ride than the marketing has suggested?

It’s an interesting mystery, and one that won’t have its answer revealed in the various trailers for the film. To date we have maybe seen a grand total of five minutes of footage from the blockbuster, and that equates to a little less than three percent of the full three hour movie. As we’ve seen with plenty of trailer remixes in the past, it’s possible to create any kind of tone with any kind of footage, so it’s not impossible that every preview we’ve seen for Avengers: Endgame has been hiding the blockbuster’s true nature.

We already thought that we know jack diddly about what to really expect from Joe and Anthony Russo’s fourth Marvel movie, but this quote honestly takes that sentiment even further. Fortunately, we won’t be tortured by this for too much longer, as Avengers: Endgame will be hitting theaters worldwide in less than three weeks – specifically on April 26th.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Director Has A Hilarious Explanation For Peter's Stealth Suit

Spider-Man: Far From Home Director Has A Hilarious Explanation For Peter's Stealth Suit

One of the things revealed in the first trailer for this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home is that everybody’s favorite Web-Slinger will be getting some new duds for his European vacation. But instead of getting the hottest and flashiest fashions from Parisian runways, Spidey will be getting a practical and understated black stealth suit. The film’s director Jon Watts, has a hilarious explanation for the stealth suit, saying:

It kind of looks like Black Widow, maybe it was one of her suits and they just tailored it.

Man, from a custom Stark suit with built-in A.I. and the Iron Spider suit, both of which likely cost millions, to one of Black Widow’s hand-me-downs; the youngest Avenger needs to file a complaint with Avengers HR or something because his contributions warrant him at least getting his own custom suit. Maybe they’re trying to come in under budget on the fiscal year and Black Widow had a spare suit just lying around they could repurpose cheaply.

Not that there is anything wrong with Black Widow’s suits; she is a literal spy and the stealthiest of the Avengers, so if it’s good enough for her, it's certainly good enough for him. And sorry, but Pete my guy, you’re a lot closer to Black Widow’s size than you are to most of the other team members.

In reality, Peter Parker would probably be honored and fanboy out over getting to use something Black Widow once had. After all, before Tony Stark upgraded him, his own suit manufacturing efforts were, let’s say, less than stellar. While we don’t know if Jon Watt’s hilarious conjecture about the stealth suit’s origin to Entertainment Weekly is strictly true, we do know a little bit about why Peter Parker is given the suit.

Following his exhausting adventures being a Friendly Universe Spider-Man in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is in need of a well-deserved vacation. He tries to take one in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but it wouldn’t be a movie if things didn’t go awry.

Nick Fury shows up (never a good sign) and recruits Spidey to take on the Elementals. It might seem odd for New York’s Spider-Man to suddenly show up in Europe at the same time Peter Parker is there, so in order to preserve his secret identity, Fury lends him the stealth suit. That said, if he’s still swinging around like Spider-Man, isn’t a black suit like putting glasses on Clark Kent? Maybe Peter’s efforts in Far From Home will be more ground-based.

Spider-Man: Far From Home, which is now the concluding film of Phase 3, has moved up a few days and swings in to theaters on July 2. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see all the big movies headed your way in the packed summer season, and for all the latest in superhero fashions, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

Should Triple Frontier Get A Sequel? Let's Talk This Out

Should Triple Frontier Get A Sequel? Let's Talk This Out

Warning: spoilers for Netflix's Triple Frontier are present. If you haven't seen the film yet, bookmark this page and come back once you've done so.

At the end of J.C. Chandor's Triple Frontier, the events that transpired during the film are brought to a seemingly tidy end. But during that ending, there are a couple of key pieces of information that stand out as potential threads for a sequel. While any film can leave the door open for another installment of adventure, it's not always the best course of action to follow up with another escapade.

It's a complicated matter, because while Triple Frontier doesn't seem like the type of film to get a sequel, there's enough left hanging that would make for an intriguing follow up if it was done correctly. With that in mind, it's time to start delving into whether or not this action-drama should continue, or if stolen cash is best left where it lies. Let's start things off by discussing the ending of the film.

What Happens At The End Of Triple Frontier

After the heist that Oscar Isaac's Santiago, and the rest of his Triple Frontier team have undertaken, the film puts them through the ringer. A series of troubles and tribulations pressures the team into some bad decisions involving an overloaded helicopter, a farming community in the Andes, and a trek through a treacherous mountain range that leads to the ultimate run for the coast. In the end, only one member of the team is killed – Ben Affleck's Tom.

As a result, the surviving teammates donate their shares of the remaining money that didn't get lost in the Andes to Tom's family. Feeling guilty for his death, and wanting to provide for his family, each man tears up his paperwork to deposit their shares, and allows their banker to deposit it all into the same account. After which, everyone goes their separate ways, saying a somber but heartfelt goodbye.

Just as the film is ready to let Isaac and Charlie Hunnam's William ride off into their respective sunsets, with Santiago ready to reunite with his girlfriend / intel source Yovanna in Australia, William slips him a piece of paper with important information. That info happens to be the GPS co-ordinates to a spot where the team dumped a ton of cash in order to lighten their load. As Santiago walks into the crowd on a warm, tropical day, the film fades to black.

The Case For A Sequel

The continued adventures of the Triple Frontier team have two key components on their side: the fact that Santiago was given the co-ordinates with the express purpose of possibly recovering the money, and his intended reunion with Yovanna after the heist went sideways. So, with a potential second act in the saga that J.C. Chandor co-wrote and directed, there's already enough components here to make for a basic sequel.

What makes a second excursion to the Triple Frontier even more exciting is something that Yovanna said to Santiago as they parted mid-way through the film. After stealing the money from the infamous drug dealer that they were robbing, she tells Santiago that it's not just that particular dealer's money in their hands. There are others who threw their funds in with his, and they're going to come looking for every penny missing.

Keeping all of this in mind, there's one of two ways this could go. One scenario is that the Triple Frontier survivors could recover the money for their own needs, as it's tucked away in a nice and secret spot for them to make a lovely retirement fund out of. The other, more probable scenario, would see those other drug dealers coming back to demand their money be returned; leaving the crew to figure out how to score the remaining $5 million that was donated to Tom's family. Both sound good, but are they enough to go forward? Let's look at the other side of the coin.

The Case Against A Sequel

While there's two good concepts for a Triple Frontier followup, there's still a solid case for not going ahead with any sort of return trips to the danger visited upon its protagonists. And that case comes from the fact that after all of the action that Santiago and his team had seen in Triple Frontier, it's not very likely that they would want to live through that sort of thing again. It all comes down to the approach to the original film, and how well it would mesh with any potential sequel.

Honestly, the grounded approach that J.C. Chandor and co-writer Mark Boal took in telling the story of Triple Frontier feels like it'd be at home with the ambiguity in the film's final reel. It's a movie that doesn't absolutely need to prolong itself beyond where it's already been, because the overriding lesson seems to be that if these soldiers hadn't pushed their luck as far as they had, they'd all be alive and richer than their wildest dreams.

In service of that message, another round of Triple Frontier action would seem like a slap in the face of that first round's overarching message. And as any fan of '80s action dramas will tell you, not every series has the luck that Rambo did; and even if it did, there's always the chance that things will devolve into mindless propaganda before all is said and done.

Where We Stand

Triple Frontier is a film that could very easily lend itself to a sequel, and that sequel could be really good. There's room for improvement with the foundation of the original, and the hooks are clear enough to bring the series into a reasonable future. But, even with the ideas presented, there's a risk that such a sequel would be a really bad idea. The result of this whole exercise is a pro sequel outcome, so long as those involved keep their heads on straight during development. In fact, bringing in J.C. Chandor and Mark Boal would be required at this point, as Chandor knows the characters and Boal knows how to bring the action.

But, of course, we'd like to know what you, the audience, think about this proposition. Using the poll below, and the comments section as well, let us know if you'd want another round of Triple Frontier in your Netflix queue. And, if you're looking for another movie to scratch that action itch, take a look at 2019's release schedule and see what's on the horizon!

Why Avengers: Endgame Was Very Specific About What Scenes Were Shown In Trailers

Why Avengers: Endgame Was Very Specific About What Scenes Were Shown In Trailers

When it comes to movie marketing, Avengers: Endgame has been able to play by its own rules. Truly, this is a sequel that the studio could have chosen to NOT market, and the same amount of tickets likely would have been sold. And yet, Disney and Marvel released two full trailers, and a Super Bowl spot, giving fans a look at specific footage from the upcoming blockbuster.

Every frame of what was shown in those Avengers: Endgame trailers has been analyzed by the amateur detectives located in the Marvel Studios fan base. Black Widow’s hair, Tony Stark’s locations, and Captain America’s facial hair has been scrutinized. Then there are the major reveals, like Hawkeye turning into Ronin, or Scott Lang being outside of the Quantum Realm.

With Avengers: Endgame tickets going on sale, we were able to interview Anthony Russo about the upcoming Marvel blockbuster, and I asked him specifically how they choose what to show in a teaser or trailer, knowing that there’s so much left to protect. Russo told us:

We drew from a very small section of the movie. We want it to be very confined. We know how savvy the fans are. We appreciate that there are so many people out there who spend time watching these movies multiple times, thinking about all the places the narratives can go. We just don't want to tip or spoil anything for anybody coming into the theater. We want to keep that experience as fresh and exciting and surprising as possible. So yeah, we're just very careful. That being said, Disney marketing is very, very, very effective, and they're very sophisticated in their process and we trust them a lot. And so they helped guide us in terms of how much we should be putting out. They always leaned on the side of putting out more. We always leaned on the side of putting out less. But we tried to find a good, happy medium.

That’s fascinating to learn that it is Joe and Anthony Russo who are the driving force behind the decision to not show footage in the trailers. Perhaps they also realize that, due to the cliffhanger nature of Avengers: Infinity War – and the success of the Marvel Studios movies, in general – very little has to be done in advance to sell Avengers: Endgame. Announce the release date, and Marvel fans will flock.

But it’s also that rabid passion and enthusiastic dedication to these stories that has the Russos being protective of what they show in the teasers and trailers. Because, as Anthony Russo states, fans will pore over every provided frame… and the brothers wouldn’t have it any other way. He tells us:

We love that! Part of our thrill as filmmakers working with these stories is that we were fans once, before we became filmmakers. We love participating in these stories ourselves as fans. So the fact that others are doing that? You know, we've always loved active viewers. That’s the viewer we’ve always strived to engage with. Whether it be in our early indie film work, in our television work, or now in our Marvel work. We're always looking to engage audiences who are passionate like that.

That approach has helped Joe and Anthony Russo make, arguably, the three most memorable movies in the MCU, in Infinity War, Civil War and The Winter Soldier. Their fandom shines through in their storytelling, and their love for these characters can be felt in the fabric of their movies. It’s why we eagerly anticipate the arrival of Avengers: Endgame, which opens everywhere on April 26.

Tickets are on sale now, so get them while they last.

Quentin Tarantino Might Actually Make Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Longer

Quentin Tarantino Might Actually Make Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Longer

The subject of how long a movie could and should be has come up more than a couple of times in recent news cycles. And no one knows about it better than Quentin Tarantino, as he’s already dropped a stealth experiment in re-editing a previous film with the extended mini-series version of The Hateful Eight, and a longer cut of Django Unchained mentioned as in the works.

And now that he’s premiered his new film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood to an eager and accepting crowd at the Cannes Film Festival, he’s preemptively talking about making this latest film longer than it already is.

The current cut of Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film sits at the running time of 2 hours and 39 minutes. And that'a because, as Tarantino himself stated in a recent interview, he had a specific mantra when it came to how he and editor Fred Raskin decided how to put it all together. It coincides with his wishes to extend Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which he expresses in the remarks below:

I wouldn’t take anything else out. I’m going to explore possibly putting something back in. If anything, I wanted to go to Cannes too short. if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on too tight.

As the story goes, Quentin Tarantino and Fred Raskin aimed for a cut that not only satisfied what Tarantino wanted out of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, but also outpaced the “old Quentin movie” time frame of 2 hours and 45 minutes. Now that the job’s been done though, it feels like QT is ready to take the audience’s reactions, and his own mental notes, to put some more material back into his next blockbuster picture.

He has a lot of material to work with too, as IndieWire’s coverage on Quentin Tarantino’s latest mentioned that Fred Raskin had crafted an initial 4 hour and 20 minute cut, which basically had “everything” intact. So we could see the length of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood jump anywhere from a couple of minutes to a whole lot of time, depending on where Quentin Tarantino wants to go with the film.

We wouldn’t expect all that much to be added back in, as after all, this is supposed to be a theatrical experience. But as with Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight (and hopefully fulfilling a promise he made years ago, Kill Bill), Once Upon A Time In Hollywood could find itself expanded into a much longer experience in the streaming and home video afterglow. That's provided it’s a success in the box office, as originally intended. Which, after watching the most recent trailer below, feels like a distinct possibility.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood shakes up history on July 26th, but if you’re looking for something a little more immediate at the box office, check out our 2019 release schedule and see what’s headed down the road.

Matt Reeves Coyly Reacts To Robert Pattinson’s Batman Casting

Matt Reeves Coyly Reacts To Robert Pattinson’s Batman Casting

The DC live-action universe has had a fascinating life in theaters, full of both peeks and valleys. This is especially true when it comes to the Caped Crusader's tenure in the DCEU. Ben Affleck was a highlight of Batman v Superman, but following the box office failure of Justice League, he hung up the cowl and cape for good. Now the role has been recast, as Matt Reeves' The Batman will star Robert Pattinson as the title character.

Robert Pattinson's involvement in The Batman has been rumored for a few weeks, and last week it was revealed that he reportedly beat out X-Men actor Nicholas Hoult for the role. Unfortunately, there was no official announcement from Warner Bros. or Matt Reeves. Until now. Reeves recently posted a cryptic GIF of Pattinson, check it out below.

And just like that, Robert Pattinson is officially our next live-action Batman. This news is super exciting considering the long gestation period of Matt Reeves' upcoming blockbuster, and how long the public has waited for any concrete information regarding The Batman.

Matt Reeves' tweet is sure to elicit a mixed bag of responses from the rabid DC fans out there. On one hand, it confirms that development for The Batman has finally started taking steps forward, starting with finding the film's new star. The movie has been a long time coming, and there's been countless reports as to what it might contain. But with Pattinson officially attached to play the Dark Knight of Gotham, the upcoming movie seems to be taking shape.

But there are also some moviegoers and DC fans out there who might not be thrilled with Robert Pattinson's casting as the next Bruce Wayne. The 33 year-old actor has had a long career in movies, but his name is still synonymous with playing Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise. It's this connection that seems to give some fans pause. But Pattinson has done some impressive work since his time as the sparkly vampire, including The Lost City of Z, Damsel, and High Life. So those who have been following his career seem jazzed about the casting.

Related: Why Now Is The Best Time For Robert Pattinson's Batman

In addition to Matt Reeves coyly confirming Robert Pattinson's role as the Caped Crusader, DC also created a new Twitter for the Batman franchise. This timing seem quite deliberate, making The Batman one more step close to reality. Check out their first awesome tweet below.

Batman is coming back to theaters, and that's something that should make the generations of fans very happy. Gotham's protector is one of the most beloved and iconic comic book characters of all time, so it was hard to imagine a DCEU without the character's presence. The Batman's plot and how it will connect to the rest of the shared universe remains to be seen, exciting steps forward have been occurring.

The Batman is currently set to arrive in theaters on June 25th, 2021. And now that the cast is being assembled, that release date finally feels possible from the outside. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Captain America's Last Avengers: Endgame Mission Raises A Lot Of Questions

Captain America's Last Avengers: Endgame Mission Raises A Lot Of Questions

Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame. Read at your own risk!

Avengers: Endgame gave audiences a lot to chew on throughout its three-hour runtime in what ended up being a satisfying, but somewhat confusing tale that utilized time-travel. While it's been established the typical movie rules involving time-travel aren't in play in the superhero epic, there's a handful of moments that have folks scratching their heads even if they liked the movie.

The biggest of these is Captain America's final mission, which involved traveling back to the past to return the Infinity Stones to the points in time that they were taken. He didn't return the way Hulk assumed he would, and instead, appeared on a park bench much older than what he should've been when he left. He told Sam Wislon he had decided to try out having a normal life, and was shown to have returned for his dance with Peggy Carter.

It was a sweet moment, but also one that raises a lot of questions. Did Cap's pit-stop affect the timeline, and if so, how do The Avengers remember his prior actions? Here's some of the problems with Avengers: Endgame's Captain America ending, some ways it could be explained and what it might mean for the Marvel universe.

The Problem With Captain America's Trip

If Captain America went back for that dance with Peggy, then he's potentially scrubbed a big part of his timeline. If Steve's alive and well throughout all that time he's frozen, there's plenty of ways for him to interfere and reshape history. It's possible he's created a new reality which changed events viewers saw in Agent Carter, and made that kiss scene with Sharon Carter in Civil War way more awkward.

One might think this is rectified if Cap simply created a new reality living another life, but it's not that simple as he can't live in a reality that was unaffected by his actions. There are other explanations as to how he could've accomplished this, but they would absolutely change the meaning of Captain America's story as we know it.

Or was he always in the past and we're just now learning that there have been two versions of Steve Rogers living independently of each other in the MCU this entire time? Avengers: Endgame did nothing to explain this predicament, and it's unclear whether or not Marvel will down the stretch.

Now that we've established the problems let's do a deep dive into working out each possibility, and drilling down on the various complications with popular theories, and what would need to be explained for them.

Captain America Lived Out A Full Life In An Alternate Timeline

In this scenario, Captain America returned all the Infinity Stones, and then traveled back to Peggy for that dance and to live out the rest of his days by her side. In doing so, he created an alternate timeline, and may have left his frozen self dormant in that ice. Man, not cool, Steve.

Now, once Steve has lived out a full life by Peggy's side, he gets more Pym Particles and travels back to before he revealed himself as alive to Peggy, stops that Steve from revealing himself to her and then lets things play out the way they naturally did with the world believing Steve Rogers is gone. This then sets him back in the reality similar to the one he was before, and he travels back to the timeline

Now there are some problems with this. For example, there'd be three Captain Americas when Old Steve went back, and if he convinced the Steve about to see Peggy to stay away, he's created a reality in which there are three Steve Rogers and this isn't quite his reality. He could kill the third Cap, but that doesn't seem like something he'd do. Basically, unless there's three Caps in the current timeline, this theory has some real problems.

Captain America Lived Out A Full Life With Peggy In The Main Timeline

Here, Captain America went back to Peggy, they had that dance and began a lifelong great romance. They got married and started a family. Basically, the assumption is that Steve is the unnamed husband of Peggy that Cap learns about in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Ideally, Steve arrived after the events of television series Agent Carter, which keeps that series canon and less complicated.

Second, Steve and Peggy then keep his true identity out of the limelight, and the hero keeps a low profile so that he doesn't jeopardize his future rescue which brings him back decades later. Once Peggy grew ill, Old Steve then removed all things that would've clued his younger self in on the fact that there were two of him running around.

Again, it's not a bad theory, but it's not without its problems. The biggest of these is that tender kiss Cap shared with Sharon Carter, who would be his grandniece. Obviously Steve at the time wouldn't have known that, but it'd definitely be something older Steve would cringe at the thought of later in life. Maybe he can just blame it on Game of Thrones, or Marvel can just scrub that scene as it was kind of uncomfortable to begin with.

Captain America Went Back To Peggy, But It Didn't Work Out

There is a third option, in which Steve went back in time to dance with Peggy, and things ultimately didn't work out. Whether Steve explained why they couldn't live happily ever or things inevitably fell apart between these two lovebirds is a mystery. I'm inclined to think the former because Peggy still clearly cared about Steve years later.

Steve then went somewhere to live a normal life and, while he didn't get the true love he dreamed of for most of his life, things seemed to have turned out alright for him. Now an old man, he eventually travels to the point in time his friends are waiting for him, and hands over the Captain America shield to Sam.

Wait, how did he get a hold of another shield? Steve didn't leave with one, so did old Steve snatch another one? That seems like something that would mess up or create an alternate timeline, right?

What The Russos Have Said About Captain America's Trip

The Russos are well aware that the world has questions regarding Captain America's adventure, and they've teased there is an answer. The brothers think there may be a story behind Steve's Avengers: Endgame journey, and noted they spent three years working through the layers of the story.

Ok, great, so why not just tell us what happened? Well, if there's a story to tell behind Cap's journey, it's possible it plays into a larger part of Marvel's plans for Phase 4. In short, the story about what Captain America achieved may be explained down the line in another movie.

What seems more likely, to me, is that Steve's time situation will be explained in the upcoming Falcon and Winter Soldier series for Disney+. Kevin Feige has teased a stronger Marvel connection with those shows partly because they're being produced by Marvel Studios, but also because they were planned around the same time as Phase 4. If answers are coming on what happened, this show seems like the best time to do it.

Do you have a theory or way of explaining Captain America's trip in Avengers: Endgame? We'd certainly love to hear it. Share your thoughts in the comments below and stick with CinemaBlend for tons of MCU analysis.