46 Things We Learned from the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Commentary

“There’s your kick in the nuts.”

Avengers: Infinity War is the year’s biggest blockbuster — just barely ahead of Black Panther — and it’s a deserved position as it brings together dozens of characters from the previous 18 films for a royal rumble the likes of which the big screen have never seen. It’s not labeled as such, but the film is part one in a two-part Avengers tale that was filmed back-to-back and wraps up next year as closure to this phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s a pretty great experience with thrills, chills, and laughs — just not in that order.

Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary track for…

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Commentators: Joe and Anthony Russo (directors), Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (writers)

1. It was decided late in post-production to have Kenneth Branagh voice the opening distress call over the destroyed ship’s radio.

2. The film opens in medias res in part because there was so much story to tell. “It’s so jam-packed with stuff you have to use even the opening credits to tell story.”

3. “We wanted to keep the plot very simple with simple MacGuffins because we have so many characters in the movie.” They go on to say that more plot — or a complicated one — would take away from character time.

4. The opening ship is indeed the one at the end of Thor Ragnarok. It has lost its color and whimsy because this is a much darker story.

5. This script was begun in January of 2016 which was before Thor Ragnarok was written meaning this opening scene changed a bunch.

6. Viewing the film as Thanos’ “hero’s journey” was the only way they could figure out how to fit everyone in.

7. The early fight between Thanos (Josh Brolin) and Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is meant to show that he’s flat-out unbeatable in a one-on-one clash.

8. Heimdall’s (Idris Elba) last ditch effort to save the Hulk by opening the rainbow bridge is a callback of sorts to The Avengers when Thor commented that Odin had used all of his “dark magic” to get him home and some viewers complained that was a cheat. “You just saw where the dark magic came from — straight out of Heimdall.”

9. The opening ship destruction doesn’t mean the Asgardians are extinct outside of Thor. “Several” have escaped including Valkyrie.

10. “I wouldn’t say no to a tuna melt,” has been a part of the script since the earliest drafts.

11. They know everyone wanted to hear Tony Stark/Iron-Man (Robert Downey Jr.) say “No shit Sherlock” to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), but it was too meta and obvious even for them.

34. Yes, those are the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak that Strange is using to hold one of Thanos’ arms. Duh.

35. The bit where Black Panther punches Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary) at 1:53:19 is an iconic moment from the comics where the bad guy goes under the name Black Dwarf.

36. An earlier draft held off Captain America’s (Chris Evans) first appearance in the film until the tackle at 1:57:52. “They called us insane.” They quickly realized that they have two movies to tell these characters’ story and add that Cap has a much bigger role in the next film.

37. “A lot of fans were upset with Starlord’s (Chris Pratt) choice in this movie,” they say before excusing his behavior as very human. “You’re just putting characters in positions that act like humans. He’s had a tough life. It’s utterly understandable. He made an emotional decision.” I’ve been hearing this argument since the film opened and still don’t buy it. It’s necessary for this particular story they’re telling, sure, because that’s the choice they made, but having both Starlord and Nebula (Karen Gillan) stand idly by while others struggle to remove the gauntlet is just poor writing. They excuse his action, but three movies in his immaturity is growing tiresome. The trend continues as they blame Thor’s own misjudgment regarding his attempt at killing Thanos — had he aimed for Thanos’ head or simply got on with it instead of talking he might have won — on his action being “very human and understandable” as he chooses to talk smack instead of finishing the job.

38. Yes, that is Soul World that Thanos transports to after snapping his fingers. Duh.

39. Meeting young Gamora in Soul World is an opportunity for one last meeting with that which he gave up, “a spiritual representation of his daughter,” but maybe she actually exists inside the stone?

40. They suggest that while ending the film on Thanos’ snap would have been a cliffhanger, but showing what comes next makes it a tragedy. (I’d argue it’s a tragic cliffhanger.)

41. On the page, Spider-Man’s (Tom Holland) turn to ashes came quickly, but on the day they kept pushing the emotion of the father/son relationship by dragging it out several seconds more. They told Holland that he didn’t want to go and was using all of his strength to fight it.

42. There’s a symmetry between Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) early comment to Thanos that he’ll never be a god to Cap’s ending words “Oh god.”

43. A scarecrow made of Thanos’ armor is briefly visible at 2:16:59.

44. In addition to playing Cull Obsidian, Notary also served as a movement advisor to everyone who played a CG character. “And a memorable day where he played Dr. Strange’s cape.”

45. They skipped the typical mid-credits bonus scene because they wanted audiences to sit with this dark ending.

46. Surprising no one, Sam Jackson said the entire final line — “Mother fucker” — on each take of his end credits scene, and each time the crew would burst out laughing.

Best in Context-Free Commentary

“Moral of this story is never have the Russos redecorate your house.”

“Part of what we wanted to do out of the gate was unsettle you.”

“Thanos has a long memory.”

“We have difficulty with characters who are too powerful.”

“I know all these people will jump on the grenade, but will they throw somebody else on the grenade?”

“For eagle-eyed viewers, Tobias Funke is part of the MCU.”

“I think a lot of people assume that Rocket had put it up his ass to get it out.”

“What is a dark moment for a person who bathes in darkness all the time? It’s losing the one thing he loves.”

“A lot of fans were upset with Starlord’s choice in this movie.”

“In a traditional commercial ending, this could have been the end of the movie.”

“As monumental as this moment is in cinema, my primary memory is Josh Brolin with a huge chest-piece that made him look like one of the Fruit of the Loom guys.”

“One of the most amazing things about these credits is that if you look through them long enough you will eventually find your own name.”

Buy Avengers: Infinity War on Blu-ray/DVD/digital HD from Amazon

Final Thoughts

Avengers: Infinity War is a lot of movie, and even with some minor quibbles you’d be hard-pressed to give the filmmakers much guff about it. You get a lot of bang for your buck, and their commentary track is equally packed with insight, technical detail, and anecdotes. Highly recommended for Marvel fans.

Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.

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