Russos’ Bold Risks Achieved a Vision

The Avengers were loved; the directors gambled by breaking fans’ hearts
By Bob Verini

Brothers Anthony and Joe Russo have directed four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s blockbusters. With “Avengers: Endgame,” they boast not only the No. 1 box office grosser in history and one of the year’s top critical successes, but an experience that worldwide audiences say they love.

That love is one of the secrets of the brothers’ success. Not because they bask in it, but because they are willing to turn the fans’ love against them.

The Russos “had the foresight and vision to end ‘Infinity War’ with the heroes losing in such a way that it captured the global imagination and incited a cultural event,” says “Endgame” producer and Marvel topper Kevin Feige. “They understand how to fulfill and subvert audience expectations in ways that are exceedingly risky.”

That subversive streak should come as no surprise to fans of their “Captain America: Civil War,” in which they broke up the Avengers entirely. “We loved the idea of tearing the Avengers apart,” says Anthony, “because we knew the audience had so much investment in the Avengers as a group of people who work together.”

Fans’ eager acceptance of that schism encouraged the daring move that wrapped up the decadelong story arc. “Finally, a villain in a superhero movie actually achieves his goal and wipes out half of all life,” says Anthony.

As VFX supervisor Dan DeLeeuw observes, “The Russos love to usurp expectations.

“After the events of ‘Infinity War,’” he says, “the audience may have expected a showdown with Thanos. But within the first act of ‘Endgame,’ Thanos was dispatched by the Avengers, causing the film to make a left turn into a character study.”

The Avengers’ subsequent struggles with loss and failure in “Endgame” opened the door to one of the most personal moments in the Russos’ cinema: the group counseling scene in which a gay survivor (played by Joe himself) painfully discusses coping with his partner’s disappearance.

“Chasing these big ideas is probably what we learned,” Anthony asserts. “Just the confidence to go with our guts and tell stories that surprised and thrilled both us and audiences.”

Variety critic Peter Debruge observed, “Time and again, ‘Endgame’ makes the point that family matters, whether that means biological ties … or those forged by duty.” That should suit the Russos just fine. On set, says Anthony, “We love a family atmosphere. We grew up in a big Italian-American family and we love that energy. And we love everybody to feel included.”

Chris Evans, who played Steve Rogers/Captain America, deems the Russos “these incredibly personable guys. And their attitude breeds this sort of lightness on set, which makes everyone feel like it’s an open and collaborative team environment.” Executive producer Trinh Tran recalls Joe announcing, “All ideas, no matter where they come from, are valued. It doesn’t matter if you’re a production assistant or way high up there, we’ll listen to everybody.”

Yet openness doesn’t just engender good vibrations. It’s central to their entire method of keeping an MCU epic’s many thousands of moving parts going and thriving.

“Making those movies,” Anthony explains, “is a very complex process” requiring “a good organizational plan for how you’re going to communicate. Because you can’t be having hundreds of conversations all week about the same thing to different people.”

Joe observes that he and his brother have spent a quarter century communicating their ideas to each other daily. “I think it has helped us excel at communicating those ideas to other people,” he says, “and being very clear about what we are asking of them and what we want. We’re very decisive.”

Decisive and united as they are, the Russos are not clones of each other. As co-screenwriter Stephen McFeely puts it, “Joe is like the Energizer Bunny and he does not stop, and he always has another idea. Anthony is much more methodical and deliberate in a lot of his choices. In our meetings, the conversations have a similar pattern of a push from Joe on one side, and a resistance from Anthony on the other side.”

In the end, McFeely reports, “It really just comes down to the best idea wins.”

Which in turn speaks to the work ethic underlying the Russos’ projects and contributing to their movies’ record‑breaking triumphs.

“You have to sweat a lot of blood to get these things on film,” Joe insists.

“Everybody sacrifices,” Anthony agrees. “It’s very difficult to make a movie. People do it because they have a passion for it and a dedication to it. And so we like to create an atmosphere where everybody feels open and free to contribute their ideas, to contribute that energy.”

How to frame their achievement on “Endgame”? Feige observes, “It’s one thing to get great reviews, as ‘Endgame’ did. It’s another thing to get great reviews even with [an] undercurrent of prejudice against genre films in general.”

Lately that undercurrent has spilled into full view, with references to movie epics as “theme parks.” But Feige argues that the Russos’ film carried far more impact than a mere thrill ride.

“I saw people in the theaters,” he says. “Yes, they stood up and cheered, they sat down and cried. That’s what cinema is all about: taking somebody on a journey through emotions they wouldn’t otherwise be feeling.”