X

Avengers: Endgame Reddit AMA covers Tony Stark death, cut scenes, Captain America wielding Mjolnir and more

Here's everything we learned from the Russo Brothers' AMA on Reddit.

Bonnie Burton
Journalist Bonnie Burton writes about movies, TV shows, comics, science and robots. She is the author of the books Live or Die: Survival Hacks, Wizarding World: Movie Magic Amazing Artifacts, The Star Wars Craft Book, Girls Against Girls, Draw Star Wars, Planets in Peril and more! E-mail Bonnie.
Bonnie Burton
3 min read
37-avengers-endgame-2j7e2y-1

The Russo Brothers answer fan questions all about their favorite moments from Avengers: Endgame.

Marvel

Now that Avengers: Endgame is available to grab on Blu-ray and digital release, fans will no doubt be scouring the blockbuster movie for every tiny detail they may have missed in theaters.

Because fans might also have a few pressing questions for the movie's directors the Russo Brothers, the duo took to Reddit for an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Wednesday to answer any burning questions about Tony Stark's tragic death, time portals, Captain America wielding Mjolnir, the importance of Vormir and more.

Here are the highlights from the Reddit AMA with Joe and Anthony Russo.

About the sequence of time portals:

"We spent a lot of time in the edit room playing around with the sequencing of the portals," Joe Russo said. "We probably didn't lock that section of the movie until about a month before the film was in theaters. We always wanted Sam to be the first one to communicate with Cap via his comm, and Sam was last in Wakanda, so logically the first portal that would open would the Wakanda portal. And the first person that would logically walk through a portal from Wakanda would be the King himself, bringing his army once again to the defense of Cap and the world."

The most difficult day of shooting for Endgame?

"Tony Stark's death," Anthony and Joe said.

null

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in Avengers: Endgame.

Marvel Studios

More on Tony' Stark's story arc being so tragic:

"At this point we have been involved with just about every characters arc in the MCU ," Joe said. "But in respect to all of the characters that aren't Cap, I think Tony's arc is incredibly tragic and unquantifiably heroic. As a father myself, contemplating the notion of being presented with the choice of saving the universe at the cost of losing your life, and knowing that your child would lose their father, and that your wife would lose a husband, is painfully difficult to comprehend. It's a choice that only the greatest amongst us could make."

About that cut Avengers kneeling scene:

"We found the Avengers kneeling scene incredibly emotional as well, but when played in the run of the film," Joe and Anthony said, "it felt incredibly similar to the moment when all of the heroes stood on the shore at Tony's funeral, paying their respects to him outside his home. The two scenes, when in the film together, seemed to fight one another, and created a repetitious ending."

The importance of Vormir and the Soul Stone:

"For the centerpiece of Vormir where you retrieve the stone, we referenced ruins that were used for human sacrifice as an inspiration," Anthony Russo said. "The choice to keep the soul stone out of the storytelling wasn't entirely ours, any of the other Marvel storytellers could have gone to that stone at any opponent. But, we were thrilled that the stone had remained a mystery in the MCU and that we were able to use it for such a surprising purpose."

captainamerica

Captain America (Chris Evans) looks very angry -- for good reason -- in Avengers: Endgame.

Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET

On Captain America wielding Mjolnir:

"He always could," Anthony said. "Our interpretation of the famous scene in Ultron was that when he realized he could pick up Mjolnir he quickly chose not to, because he didn't want to embarrass Thor."

Any important Easter eggs in Endgame that haven't been found yet?

"Yes," Anthony and Joe said.

Plans for future director cuts of their movies?

"We have always released the version of the movie we wanted to, so you would never see a director's cut of a Russo Brothers' Marvel movie because you have already seen it," Anthony said.

Which superhero movie that is not currently in the MCU they would love to direct:

"We've always loved us some Wolverine," Anthony said.

Advice for young/aspiring directors:

"Get out your iPhone and shoot short films on it," Anthony and Joe said. "Post those short films on YouTube. Do this as much as humanly possible, because it teaches you how to tell stories, and it gives you exposure. We found Donald Glover for Community because of a series of insanely hilarious comedic shorts he and his friends had shot and posted on YouTube while he was a student at NYU."

Avengers: Endgame breakdown of Thanos' fate

See all photos