For Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were given the daunting task of bringing some closure to the first era of the MCU. And in a recent interview with the LA Times, the pair revealed that Disney gave them just one requirement as their starting point in coming up with a story.
The pair were hired back in 2015 to pen the two Marvel megahits, by which point, the MCU was already seven years old. In previous films, the franchise had offered a few teases for the Infinity Saga’s two-part finale, the biggest perhaps being Thanos’ debut in the post-credits of 2012’s The Avengers. And according to Markus, the Mouse House demanded that the Mad Titan somehow factor into their two movies.
“[Disney] basically said, ‘We want to bring the MCU to the close of a definitive chapter,’” Markus recalled. “‘We want to do two movies [that are] very different in tone, you can draw from anything, [but] Thanos [has to be] in it.’”
Aside from this one stipulation, Markus and McFeely were practically given free rein on the story they told, which left the pair with an overwhelming number of options. The two of them reportedly started the writing process by putting together a 60-page document mapping out all the possible ways in which the Infinity Saga could end, and from there, the team began narrowing down their choices.
Though there are many different routes that Markus and McFeely could’ve taken, it’s a little ironic that the one required element in all these possible stories was a villain known for the line, “I am inevitable.” But contrary to those words, it’s currently looking likely that Thanos has now ended his run in the MCU. Indeed, Josh Brolin himself mentioned just last month that he’s contracted “on a one movie to one movie basis,” suggesting that Marvel probably doesn’t have any future outings planned for the character.
Regardless, now that Avengers: Endgame has concluded the MCU’s first era, we’ll find out what’s next for the franchise when Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 2nd.