'Everything' in MCU Sets Up Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War co-director, Joe Russo, opens up about what the hardest part of making the film has been for him, his brother Anthony, and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. After already proving any naysayers wrong for the past nine years, Marvel Studios is preparing to take on its most ambitious film to date in next year's Avengers: Infinity War. Not only will Infinity War feature one of the largest ensembles in the history of cinema, but the movie will also act as payoff for years and years worth of set up that Marvel has spent precious time inserting into all of its past films.

That's a daunting task for even Marvel to try and take on and something that few other studios would even contemplate. And despite most of the characters having already been introduced and fleshed out prior to the events of the film, Infinity War will still have to make time for each to get their own moment to shine, while also making way for Josh Brolin's Thanos, who audiences will finally get to spend some real time with after years of cameo appearances in previous Marvel films.

While recently speaking with Comicbook.com, co-director Joe Russo spoke about why bringing together all of the different storylines and characters in Infinity War -- in a coherent and understandable fashion -- has proven to be the hardest part of constructing the film:

"Everything is setting up Infinity War. Every narrative that you have seen in any of the Marvel movies leading up to this point comes to bear in some way because all of the characters and all of the franchises are coming together, bringing their themes and their tone and the things that motivate the characters are driving them through this story. It has been the hardest part of the job for us, is melding all of that together, But thankfully, we got Markus and McFeely working with us. They are incredible collaborators. They wrote WInter Soldier for us, and Civil War. Now they're writing both Avengers movies. I feel like we've got a great Vulcan mind meld between the two of them, and me and my brother."

The best thing that Infinity War has going for it -- aside from Marvel's spectacular track record up until this point -- is that it will finish off whatever loose ends and storylines from Infinity War in 2019's Avengers 4. This means that Joe and Anthony Russo will be able to deliver on the "culmination" of the MCU throughout two separate films, though, even that will likely prove to be a difficult feat for Marvel to pull off.

However, there are few directors and writers more capable of nailing Infinity War than Joe and Anthony Russo, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely. Those four were able to make last year's Captain America: Civil War -- a film many thought would be impossible to pull off -- into one of Marvel's more noteworthy successes to date, after already delivering the very well-reviewed Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So if Marvel is able to ensure Avengers 3 and 4 turn out to be satisfying, quality films, then it'll be hard to think of anything the now veteran film studio can't do.