It has been a wild ride with the Avengers these past ten years. We’ve gotten to know the OGs, or the A6 as I see them referred to on social and we chose our favorites. As new superheroes join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we get to know them as well, and we’ve grown to love them all….even villainous Loki, despite, or because, of his torturous self-defeating personality.
With the Avengers: Endgame, we will see the culmination of the past 22 movies, and we’ve been waiting for this a long time. Still, I AM NOT READY.
A few weeks ago, under wraps and at a different location than usual, press was invited to interview the Avengers: Endgame cast. We didn’t know who would be in attendance until the junket started or more specifically, util the curtain dropped.
The audience was stunned. Not a sound for five seconds or so as we all absorbed what had just happened. In front of us was three rows of chairs, and every other chair was empty.
So impactful.
Jon Favreau, aka Happy from the movies, was the moderator, and he immediately reminded us all that the interview was taking place post-snap, and reflected the loss that the Avengers faced.
We all felt it at that moment, too, more than ever. More members of the Avengers: Endgame cast made their way on-stage, and the interview quickly began. In attendance were:
- Robert Downey Jr. (“Tony Stark / Iron-Man”)
- Chris Evans (“Steve Rogers / Captain America”)
- Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”)
- Scarlett Johansson (“Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow”
- Mark Ruffalo (“Bruce Banner / The Hulk”)
- Jeremy Renner (“Clint Baron / Hawkeye”)
- Brie Larson (“Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel”)
- Don Cheadle (“James Rhodes / War Machine”)
- Paul Rudd (“Scott Lang / Ant-Man”)
- Karen Gillan (“Nebula”)
- Danai Gurira (“Okoye”)
- Directors Anthony & Joe Russo
- Producer Kevin Feige
None of us had seen the movie yet, so questions were vague and more generic in nature. My favorite was when the cast en masse was asked if they preferred Captain America with or without facial hair.
This is the “pro-facial hair” crew.
This is the “clean-shaven” group.
Notice who voted twice?
You have to love Paul Rudd. He smiles almost constantly, and he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Not only did he joke that he knows he is in the movie still, as he’s seen the trailers, but he knew nothing else. He equated being chosen to be part of the MCU as to the Beatles asking him to come jam with them. The joy he feels is readily apparent in his demeanor, but I’ve seen that with him since I first interviewed him for Ant Man.
Brie is the newcomer to the group, and she shared that they had shot Endgame before Captain Marvel, so can you imagine what an introduction that must have been? She said it was surreal, and she had to immediately perform in front of legends. (That word surreal comes up a lot in these MCU interviews!)
Because it’s tough to interview people without being able to discuss the movie at all, odd topics arise. One of them was Boggle, and who plays it best. Apparently, Don Cheadle is pretty good, but not to be outdone was Mark Ruffalo, who managed to find the word asbestos one time. (They play on the plane while traveling to various press events.) I love Boggle, so I have mad respect for you, Dr. Banner. (No Banner!)
I normally don’t quote much directly from the transcript, but I loved what Ruffalo had to say about the cast: “It doesn’t feel like family to me because we all really get along well. There’s not that much drama. It does feel like family. It’s a family that you wish you had in a way. I don’t know if you could tell. But it’s a little bit different press conference than the last time. It has a little bit sort of sadness to it. We’re all talking about like we’re dead. I loved working with these guys. It was great knowing them. They were great boggle players. There is something very bittersweet about this moment. Because as actors, we’re like vagabonds. We kind of bounce around. We have these intense relationships. And then you don’t see anybody until you get nominated for something or you’re nominated in something and you end up in an award ceremony. ”
I feel like what he said is so important. He hit upon the sober feel to the interview, yet wrapped up the ten years of working together so well. They bounce around, they don’t see each other all the time, yet they’re like family. We should all be so lucky.
Let’s talk about Danai. She’s absolutely gorgeous, the type of radiating beauty that seems internal as well as external. She speaks so eloquently, sharing that she loves her character as she’s unapologetic, has no rage issues, and has a good time. My favorite scene with her was in Black Panther, when Bruce is in the robotic armor and falls down after declaring that he’s got it. Her face said it all and it was such a funny scene descriptive of how regal yet involved she is.
Then there’s my personal favorite, and you all know who: Chris Hemsworth. I may have taken quite a few photos of him.
See why I had to?
Jon asked him what he like best about playing him. While his answer is fabulous, this back-and-forth chit-chat amongst the cast before he answered has to be shared, as it’s hilarious.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Why are you so great? Just tell us now.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Yeah. Mr. Evans, why don’t you answer this for me?
CHRIS EVANS: Has he been?
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Out of all the Chrises?
CHRIS EVANS: I’m curious.
He made Jon, and a few others, cringe when he said that he watched Iron Man straight out of high school and thought how awesome it would be to be a part of that world. Fast-forward a few years, he was playing Thor and wondering if it was even going to make it to DVD. Now he’s so popular, he’s on at least 14 t-shirts in my drawer, his mjolnir is on a tattoo on my left arm and his life-sized cutout is in my foyer. Little did he know….
A week or so later, I had the very distinct pleasure of seeing a few minutes of film footage, and while I will not discuss it at all, I will tell you about the cocktail hour afterwards where we had a couple of special guests of honors. These brothers are probably familiar to you, if you’re a Marvel fan: Joe and Anthony Russo.
It was like being in the presence of greatness, just like when I’ve gotten to speak with Kevin Feige. (I will forever be sad I did not get to meet Stan Lee.) The brothers gave us zero clues about the movies but their love for Marvel shone through. Knowing this is the end makes me crazy sad, but I’m so glad to have gotten the chance to meet them and get photos with them both.
No Avengers post would be complete without a picture of this guy, the foundation of the Avengers. “I am Iron Man.”
And more pictures of Chris Evans are always good, right? <nods head>
By the time you read this, I’ll have seen the movie. No spoilers here though. The movie is 3 hours and 58 seconds long, including credits. You may still want to stay through those credits, though I can’t confirm or deny that. I just know I’ll be there until the lights are up and I can’t see the screen.
In case you haven’t seen it 3,987 times yet, here’s an official trailer to watch. Again.
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