Avengers: Infinity War – Deciding Who Lives and Dies

One of the biggest questions surrounding Avengers: Infinity War is about who might live and who might perish in the new Marvel blockbuster.

Speculation has been rampant about which of the many heroes who appear in the film might exit stage left, due either to the presumed mechanics of the plot (for example, most people assume that the Mind Stone in his head means Vision is a goner) or the real-life fact that the actor is done with his or her contract (Chris Evans has said he’s finished playing Captain America). We even know of at least one office pool based on what the body count might be.

When we sat down with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely earlier this week, we asked if they were given any sort of mandate in terms of who could live or die.

“No,” replied McFeely. “But that’s a group conversation. So we would say, ‘Listen, the story that it looks like we’re telling, maybe this sacrifice needs to be made.’ Or this person needs to say goodbye in a certain way, and then that becomes a group conversation. But as part of the epic storytelling and the big ambition, it’s an end chapter, it’s not a chapter. So if someone’s arc comes to a close here in a really satisfying way, why would we not do that?”

Markus added, “If the story doesn’t demand it, don’t do it, and if the story demands it, don’t hold back.”

“I mean, the marketing is accurate,” continued McFeely. “This is really the end of something, and the beginning of something else. We really tried that.”

Markus and McFeely also wrote the next Avengers movie (the title of which won’t be revealed until sometime later on) and said that even though much of the filming has been completed, they are still on call to “tinker” with it if directors Anthony and Joe Russo, along with Marvel, require it. Which means that the fates of a number of superheroes might still be yet to be determined.

For now, the first public screenings of Avengers: Infinity War begin tonight and audiences will get to see at long last whether Thanos truly brings the hurt upon the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe…