Hi, Russo brothers here.

We are the directors of Avengers: Infinity War.

And we're here to talk about

every hero in Avengers: Infinity War.

So let's get started.

(bright music)

Tony Stark is Iron Man.

I think in a lot of ways he is the heart

and soul of the Marvel Universe.

Tony Stark's powers are fascinating

because they basically come from his mind,

they come from his scientific knowledge,

his brilliance, his intelligence,

and his sort of aspirations.

It allows you to sort of track a journey

in the character and watch him evolve

and sort of better himself through the use of these powers.

And he's a fascinating character,

he's a character we love because he's imminently flawed

and we like characters that are challenging

and that express their humanity and I think

Tony Stark does that as well as any of the characters.

He started off as a narcissistic alcoholic

and grew into a hero which I think makes him

imminently relatable and why he signifies

what the Marvel Universe stands for.

It's this notion of a character first and that heroes

are defined through the choices that they make.

He has one of the most exciting

power sets of any of the characters.

(electricity crackling)

Thor is an Asgardian god, he started off

heir to the throne of Asgard and found himself

not worthy of taking the mantle of king of the Asgardians.

And I think he's been on a very complicated journey

where he struggles with his ability

to feel worthy and be worthy.

Well he's never fought me.

Yeah, he has. Well he's never

fought me twice.

I think he's looking for a moral compass in his life.

What we love about him in Infinity War

is that he has been torn down to his essential parts.

And he goes on a hero's journey which is a very

underdog journey for someone of his stature

because he has lost everything in his life.

Thanos!

In a lot of ways, he is the driving hero's arc

of the movie which stands in direct opposition

to Thanos' arc, and I would argue that had Thor

chopped his head off at the end of the movie,

that the movie would have belonged to Thor.

But because he didn't, it belongs to Thanos.

Now that these actors have played these characters

over multiple movies, Chris Hemsworth was very valuable

coming off Ragnarok because we were executing these movies

before we were able to fully process

what had been done with the character.

Both Chris Hemsworth and Taiki Waititi

were really really important to us

in terms of understanding that very unique journey

that that character had in that movie

so that we can figure out how to pick up the narrative

with where he was in his life now.

(crashing) The Hulk

is in a very interesting place.

In Infinity War, he and Banner had been at odds

over who controls the host body

since we first met Bruce Banner.

It's a Jekyll and Hyde relationship,

they grow, at turns, weary with one another.

I don't know, sorta been having a thing.

Hulk refuses to help Banner because he believes

that Banner only uses the Hulk to solve problems.

And Hulk, I think, is starting to perceive himself

as who should control the host body because he doesn't feel

like Banner brings an awful lot to the table.

In Infinity War, Banner has to become the hero

and go to war with Thanos' minions,

and he does so and he's successful,

but ultimately not at beating Thanos.

(suspenseful music)

Captain America. I am Steve Rogers.

We entered the MCU by directing

Captain America: Winter Soldier.

What we love about the character is the humility

of the character, the fact that he came

from very basic roots and through sort of his will

and his aspiration and the sort of fortune

of being chosen for the Super Soldier program,

he was able to sort of make more of himself

than he would have been able to otherwise.

I think that's what people really

admire about the character.

Joe and I never really responded to the earlier comics

where is sort of a simplistic symbol

of patriotism, we were always interested in exploring

something a little more complex with the character

and really understanding him on more of a human level.

That's, I think, the journey that we've been on

with that character through several films now.

Black Widow, her unique distinction of being

a villain who was turned into a hero makes her, for us,

one of the richer characters to work with.

Scarlett Johansson has incredible range as an actress

but can embody, at the same time, vulnerability

and toughness and I think that's very difficult to do.

We've been fortunate enough to grow that character

over three films, Winter Solider,

Civil War, and Infinity War and in Winter Soldier,

we found so compelling about pairing her up

with Captain America was that he is this sort of

this paragon of morality and she is a paragon of gray.

But they've grown together and I think

when you find them in this movie

and they've been the Secret Avengers for two years

because they're being hunted by Ross and the government,

they're like a tight-knit family now,

her, Sam Wilson, and Steve Rogers.

It's hardened all of them in a way.

You can't go on the run without it affecting you emotionally

so I think all of those characters,

but specifically the ones who survived Inifity War,

Cap and Natasha, you will see them with a much harder edge.

Alright, back up Sam or you'll get your wings singed.

War Machine, Rhodey is coming out of Civil War

having lost the use of his legs.

He is a military man who understands duty and sacrifice.

The moment where he accepts Cap and Widow and Sam

when they return is a real testament to his character

and who he is, he understands that the priority

of saving the universe outweighs the priority

of petty differences, he's a very noble character.

And he's becoming an integral part of the Avengers team.

Doctor Strange, we were really thrilled

to be able to work with Doctor Strange

for the first time in Avengers: Infinity War.

And one of the things we were most excited about

with that character in this film is sort of

smashing him against the character of Tony Stark.

I will not hesitate to let either of you die.

We liked the fact that the two characters

are kind of narcissistic and they have

an alpha energy to them and we thought well what happens

when you put them in the same room together?

One dedicated to this idea of science

and one dedicated to this idea of magic.

(concrete smashing) And the conflict that

would result from their different

points of view so Doctor Strange played

a very powerful role in Avengers: Infinity War.

As a kid, as a comic book collector,

what I loved about Doctor Strange

was the mystical element to him.

Certainly not, I speak for myself.

He knew more than everyone else

because of his connection to magic.

Doctor Strange is a prescient character

and the fact that he was able to view

the events unfolding 14 million times

and watching them lose 14 million times

is weighing heavy on his heart

and doesn't save him at the end of the movie.

So, again, we wanted to show that no matter

what level of power you had,

Thanos is an unstoppable force

and ultimately the victory was going to be his.

(suspenseful music) Spider-Man.

It was a great thrill for us to be able

to reintroduce this character with Tom Holland

playing Spider-Man and the relationship,

the special relationship that he has with Tony Stark.

Kid, you're an Avenger now.

That mentor mentee relationship is very rich

and complex and having cast the character

as a real teen, we really set up a very similar dynamic

between Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland

that's very reflective of the characters.

Robert was very much a mentor to Tom

through the shooting process and it's not easy

to play a superhero and I think Robert was very instrumental

in helping Tom find that voice in him for that character.

It was very charming how it was so reflective

of the character relationship.

Wakanda forever! Black Panther

has tremendous potential as a character

in the Marvel Universe and I think Wakanda

is essential to whatever may happen post

Avengers: Infinity War to how the world may deal

with what has happened to them.

Chadwick's portrayal of that character

adds a whole new level to the Marvel Universe,

he's bringing a quiet intensity

and a regality to that character.

The technology that Wakanda has at its disposal

is valuable to repairing the world and moving forward.

He was a character that we loved working with

in Civil War and you see by the end of the film

is that he rises above the fray and he displays forgiveness.

That nobility is critical and again something

that separates him from some of the other characters

in the Marvel Universe 'cause that is not always the case.

That's what makes them all unique.

(screaming)

Gamora's an extremely strong character.

She is a daughter of Thanos which means

she was held captive by Thanos

as Thanos was moving through the universe,

conquering worlds, he would collect a range of children.

She also was a very special one for him.

Here, you try.

He had a relationship with her

unlike any he had with any of his other children.

He thought more highly of her than he thought

of any of his other children and it's sort of her struggle

to find her own identity and realize how to push back

against Thanos is a big part of her journey.

That journey is shared with her sister Nebula.

Like Gamora, Nebula is a child of Thanos,

not a literal child but she has also been collected by him

and while Nebula also finds a way

to finally liberate herself from and oppose her father,

she comes to that part of her journey

a little more slowly than Gamora does and there remains

a lot of tension between the two characters

revolving around the two arcs that they have to go through.

In the end, they end up both standing against Thanos

and standing together with one another.

I, Loki, prince of Asgard.

Loki, god of mischief, he's Thor's brother,

is another character who began his journey

as a villain and I think, finally,

shows his true colors in Infinity War

when he makes an attempt to murder Thanos

to save his own brother to tragic consequences.

We need to destroy the stone.

Vision, of course, plays a very special role

in Infinity War, he is the only character

who has a Infinity Stone actually built into his body.

We knew that put him in a very special place

in our storytelling because of that.

His sort of well-being and safety is at stake

if Thanos was going after the Stone

so his relationship with Wanda was very important to us

in this film because, as their romantic relationship

continues to develop, the stakes of that character

and his life become so important to her.

Stay.

Stay with me.

One of the most tragic moments of the movie

and one of our favorite moments of the movie, of course,

is when she has to take his life

in order to stop Thanos from getting the stone,

and by destroying the stone that's in his head.

It's time. No.

And to watch those two characters

approach that moment in the way that they did,

really one of the most inspiring parts of the story for us.

Paul Bettany has always said he thinks about Vision as,

his primary motivation is just someone

who is seeking to understand humanity

and I think that in that final gesture,

Vision really achieved a full humanity.

Scarlet Witch, like Black Widow,

had a complicated history.

If you start off as a villain,

it's usually, you're motivated by self-interest.

What's so compelling about her is that she has become

one of the most characters that readily

display empathy and love towards someone else.

Her love story with Vision was really

the essential core of the film

and the real tragedy of Infinity War

was as they were cementing their relationship

with one another, this external force injected itself,

forced her to make an incredibly difficult decision

as a hero, could you kill someone you love

in order to save the universe?

I mean, it was doubly tragic, too, because of her history,

her character history of having lost her brother,

certainly one of the more tragic and also in some ways

inspiring parts of the story for us.

Sam Wilson, Falcon.

Like Rhodey and T'Challa, understands how

to put the common good ahead of any self interests.

He was a military hero, came out

of a secret program called the Falcon Project.

His superpowers quote unquote come from his heart

and his soul and that makes him distinctive.

Winter Soldier, the journey that Bucky Barnes

has gone on from being Cap's best friend

to being captured by HYDRA and then sort of

experimented on by HYDRA and turned into the Winter Solider,

that was the heart of the conflict

of Captain America: Winter Soldier for Joe and I

was the idea that Cap was in a situation

where he had to fight his best friend

and this sort of dedication to reaching that friend

that he still believed was inside the Winter Soldier

was sort of the heart of the film for us.

We get away with a lot of darkness in that character

because of the fact that he is mind-controlled,

even more so than other characters

who have sort of villainous pasts

like Scarlet Witch or Black Widow.

This character we can push that villainy even further.

That's part of what makes the character

both dangerous and fun.

Allfathers, let the dark magic flow through me one last.

Heimdall was the all-seeing,

all-knowing gatekeeper for Asgard.

At the beginning of Infinity War,

sacrifices his life to send the Hulk to Earth

so that Bruce Banner can warn

everyone there about the threat of Thanos.

Okoye is the head of the Dora Milaje

tasked with protecting the King of Wakanda,

Black Panther, and she takes her job very very seriously

and it comes to the ultimate test in Avengers: Infinity War.

Then he killed everyone anyway.

Eitri the Dwarf is a part of a very special race

of beings who are weapons makers

and they have served the Asgardian kings for many millennia.

A king's weapon. He has skills and tools

that create weapons that are like Thor's hammer,

like his ax in this film that--

Magical. No one else can make.

He can imbue them with the power

of the Bifrost so his skillset is revered.

Big Bang sent six elemental crystals.

Wong is a great magician who complements Doctor Strange

as a protector of the Sanctorum and the mystic arts.

He and Strange have a competitive and combative relationship

and I think that that's what makes

them special is that they are better

as a team than they are individually.

Kick names, take ass. Mantis.

One of the most fun members of the Guardians of the Galaxy,

she's a newer member, she has very special skills

that can reach people on emotional levels and mentally.

She plays a very pivotal role in our Avengers plan

to take down Thanos in the climax of the film,

things go awry nonetheless

but she's certainly a source of great fun.

I've mastered the ability of standing so incredibly still

that I have become invisible to the eye.

Drax the Destroyer, he's born of tragic circumstances.

His family was murdered by Thanos' minions,

part of Thanos' culling of the universe.

Prior to obtaining the Stones,

Thanos would go planet by planet,

destroy half the population of each planet indiscriminately.

He is a character seeking revenge for his family

but his oddity creates a really

interesting tonal character that is

at times tragic and at other times hilarious.

(uplifting music) Groot,

because of most people's inability to understand him,

he is a very spiritual character.

Also because he's elemental, y'know he's a tree.

He's a very powerful character.

His heart, as well, is something that carries him

as a hero and that was illustrated

in the first Guardians when he made that sacrifice.

And in this film, even though he's regressed

and is going through his adolescence again,

which has a tendency to make you a little

self-interested and a little internal,

he does, at the moment when he's needed,

make the right choice and offers up his arm

to complete the weapon that can

bring about the end of Thanos.

How much for the gun?

Not for sale. (gun firing)

Okay, how much for the arm?

[Anthony] Rocket is a favorite of many people.

Oh, I'll get that arm. And he keeps himself

very distanced on an emotional level from other characters

and that makes him very tough to crack

and very tough to even get along with sometimes.

But that's part of the fun of the character

is figuring out ways where he can emotionally connect

with someone and that was a favorite storyline

of ours in this film, in Infinity War,

that special relationship that he develops with Thor,

seeing Thor suffer like he's come to suffer.

(screaming)

The fact that he's lost everything

and everyone, finally kind of cracks.

Rocket, I think there's also a little bit of self-interest

in there, he knows that if Thor doesn't sort of get focused

and do the job he's supposed to do,

they may all die at the hands of Thanos.

Nonetheless, they do form a very

special relationship in this movie.

(energy crackling) Star-Lord,

incredibly human character.

He grew up under extreme circumstances,

captured by space pirates, raised by pirates,

taken away from his mother who was

dying of cancer at a very early age.

I think it's made him a bit of a rogue.

I like your plan except it sucks

so let me do the plan and that way, it might be really good.

Star-Lord is someone that we relate to greatly.

His superpowers are his wits, his passion,

and his strength of character.

Again, he's not somebody who's been endowed

with superpowers outside of his heritage with his father

but this idea that he relates more to his humanity

than he does to this god-like part of himself

is what makes him so interesting to us.

Shuri is the smartest person in the Marvel Universe.

She is the sister of T'Challa,

a princess of Wakanda, and she's the brains

behind Wakanda's incredibly advanced technology.

(screaming)

Ayo is a key member of the Dora Milaje,

I would say Okoye's right hand.

She is charged with protecting Shuri

in the lab to keep her safe while she

tries to remove the Stone from Vision.

And she had a very memorable but brief showdown

with Black Widow in Captain America: Civil War.

Move or you will be moved.

Nick Fury makes a very brief and unfortunate appearance

in Avengers: Infinity War but none of the Avengers

are here without Nick Fury, he is the lifeblood

of the Avengers program and the reason that the world

even had the Avengers in the first place.

Maria Hill is a SHIELD agent,

she has worked very closely with Nick Fury.

Also has a brief but unfortunate appearance

in Infinity War with Nick Fury.

I'm like I can't believe how many

characters we've- I know.

We're the Russo brothers, thanks Wired fans

for watching and we hope you learned a lot.

Thanks.

(lightning crackling)

Bingo. Alright.

(snoring)

(energy explosions)

Together, we can stop Thanos.

(dramatic music)