8 Filmmakers Who RUINED Their Movies By Explaining Them
3. The Russos, Christopher Markus And Stephen McFeely - Avengers: Endgame
It would've taken a screw-up of elephantine proportions for Avengers: Endgame to fail. As the finale for the first four phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directors Joe and Anthony Russo had a major task on their hands, one they were aided in by writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
The Russos, Markus and McFeely had formed a formidable partnership since 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, helming further successful Marvel outings in Captain America: Civil War and then Avengers: Infinity War. Endgame too went down as a major success, earning near-universal praise and breaking multiple box-office records.
But, no matter how good the film was, cracks started to appear as both directors and writers spoke to the press. Most journalists wanted the four to break down some of Endgame's convoluted use of time-travel, which saw the team venture back into the past to retrieve the Infinity Gems and reverse the snap that had wiped out half the universe's populace in the previous film.
As the story explains, every time the Avengers jump back in time and change something, they create a forked timeline. This is only rectified when Steve Rogers travels back in time to place all the gems back where they were originally meant to be in each moment. However, instead of immediately jumping back and linking up with his friends again, Cap decides to stay, live a normal life with Peggy Carter, and age naturally.
Fine and dandy, you must think. Present day Cap went back to live his life with Peggy, while his past self would still be around saving the day. There would be two Captain Americas, sharing the same timeline. Easy, right?
Well not apparently. Endgame's writers were the first to chime in with an explanation, saying that both Caps existed in the same timeline, while the Russos disagreed, saying that Cap must've been in an alternate timeline all along before beaming back to give the shield to Sam.
Cue months' worth of Endgame interviews where both writers and directors attempted to explain every little detail about the film, and it quickly became the most tedious cinematic saga of 2019.
[EP]