We recently ran a feature breaking down our favorite pairings in Joe and Anthony Russo's sprawling, epic Avengers: Infinity War. Because as the movie plays out, different heroes break off with different allies on missions that are all meant to slow Thanos' roll. All of the faces from the Marvel Cinematic Universe never unite in one massive battle, but the interactions along the way are joyous. Except, one of them almost didn't' happen, as it's now being revealed that Spider-Man (Tom Holland) almost didn't join Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in space. Co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely explained:
There was one [version] where Spider-Man did not go to space, and where Falcon went to space. And it was fun, it was interesting, it's always great to have those guys in various situations and there was a lot to do with them in both situations, but we weren't getting as much emotion as we could if we brought them back to people who know them.
Spider-Man and Iron Man have a past. When Spidey got his own solo MCU movie -- a first, following a landmark content-sharing deal between Disney and Sony -- the studio borrowed Robert Downey Jr. (and paid him handsomely) to be Peter Parker's mentor in Spider-Man: Homecoming. So it made sense when the Black Order arrived in New York City to have Spidey team up with Iron Man and take them down. Then, once Ebony Maw departs our planet with Doctor Strange in tow, it made even more sense to have Iron Man and Spider-Man follow along... ending up on Titan.
In their conversation with Yahoo, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely explain that there's some familiarity in certain pairings that brings different emotions to the table. So while it might have been fun to see how Anthony Mackie's Falcon would play off of Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man on a space mission, giving Tony a reason to fear for his protégé's life adds extra weight to their Avengers: Infinity War scenes. And, of course, there's that finale. There's a reason why, "Mr. Stark... I don't feel so good" has become a meme.
And now, half of the characters are gone. Which likely means that Avengers 4 will play with all new pairings -- and there might be a concept of "trading lives" when it comes to bringing some of the lost characters back. But did you notice that the heroes who are left after Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped his fingers? They are the original Avengers: Cap (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and -- off screen -- Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). That's not a coincidence.
Avengers 4 will open in theaters on May 3, 2019. Infinity War is in theaters as we speak. And bookmark our Upcoming Marvel Movies guide to see what's happening in the MCU now, and beyond.
