'Avengers: Endgame' screenwriters explain time travel and more [extended interview] 

I can't remember the last time I saw a detailed interview w/screenwriters instead of directors. Thank you.

Holy crap I never even thought about the Tesseract being on Asgard.

Great interview. These guys deserve an Oscar. So much thought and effort into Infinty War and Endgame. It was executed so well. Not to mention all the other marvel movies they wrote. Just staggering.

Great interview Kevin. I love the detailed, specific questions you asked about the making of the movie. These are questions I want to see, not the general broad interviews you see in the daytime interviews. Lots of good tidbits about the movie from these two geniuses. I love how self-aware Markus, and McFeely and the Russo's are about the movie. Stuff like "Hawkeye's wife still have cell service" or audiences beating us up about the snap "Oh they're going to be brought back anyways".

I love hearing these guys talk about their writing process for the Marvel films. If only they participated in more long-form interviews/discussions like this.

Really good job on this interview. Interviewer is obviously well versed and interested but level headed in his approach.

Great questions. Great interview

For when Tony snapped, I was certain that he would see Natasha in the way station and he gets to tell her that he did it and they won. Thats just me though.

I just saw it for the third time today at noon in a small hometown theater not a Regal or AMX type theater and it still had 20+ people not bad for a monday and their were still people crying , Laughing and cheering I don't consider Endgame a movie more like a must see Event .

Yahoo on Google’s RU-vid... damn plot twist

Probably best screenwriters of all time for creating the best cinematic experience to date (IW and Endgame).

GREAT INTERVIEW! Great, knowledgeable questions. Great answers. I can’t believe he asked every question I wanted to know, like what new characters could have been included.

So glad Marvel allowed them to write an ending to this saga with no absolute ties to the future. That is very freeing and it allows all the creative minds to go all in before they trimmed it out for the best.

I didn't know Yahoo still existed. But this was a good video.

I love their reaction to the Ant-Man Thanus question. They clearly think it's hilarious.

The Ancient One didn’t say ONLY removing a stone can create an alternate timeline! She said removing one definitely would. That’s a huge difference.

Such a beautiful interview! Good job man! And thank you Markus and McFeely

This is the first time I've seen the writers of the movie. Good for this channel, interviewing them...writers of great movies need more recognition.

Great interview, both questions and answers are spoken like true screenwriters. I was expecting a lot of Marvel-nerd related discussion but I got more. Good job. Cheers

My Top3 MCU films are written by these guys. This was a great interview.

The thing behind Markus's head keeps making me think he has a ponytail haha

This is a real gem! Thanks for putting this together with the writers!

20:52 The ONLY question that needed to be asked lol. Excellent interview all the way through @djkevlar

Thank you for this interview. Great questions, great answers!

This was an amazing interview thank you

This interview was excellent. Thank you!

These guys are incredibly clever and smart, and possess amazing insight into human nature. Clearly the success has benefited from them greatly.

I'm really well impressed with everything in this interview, the writers are absoultely brilliant, the way they explain everything I feel for the most part is extraordinary, it's really amazing how self aware they are of the writing in these movies and what the audience feel etc, the interviewer was really really good too giving this at ease vibe about him. The only thing I want to point out is that you should have named them in the title of the vid rather than the description, I mean these guys are absolutely brilliant, its clear they are just no in it for the money....give them the recognition they deserve

This was a great quality interview. Really in depth questions, and good discussion vibe

The movie was long, but the "superhero Hulk" premise is lost in the film. We actually see other Avengers reporting from around the universe after saving lives, but we just see Hulk (more or less) relaxing & being a celebrity.

This is such a great interview

I'm baffled by people still not getting how the timetravel works in Endgame. It's like they fell asleep during Tony's Mobious Strip scene. Tony has them jump on and ride a Mobious Strip and then get off it again. Its very straight forward.

im so thrilled to have watched the writers of the this epic saga talk about it. The best interview with regard to mcu which only true fans will understand

Such a good interview loved it

The Hulk compromise in Infinity War, would have been just great for the Hulk arc and a nice omage to the comics. Amazing movies, but i feel like they blew a chance for great moments, cutting of so many Hulk scenes, leaving in the "Ant-man old baby debacle i think i've peed myself" scene in, while they could've put that in the bonus for the Bluray.

Good interview, man. Good job.

Devry commercial: "Today's students need balance.." *Thanos has entered the chat*

AMAZING Interview!!

I love how they explain time travel and then they contradict themselves by saying that Steve lived with peggy in the prime timeline. They say that you can't change your present/future by changing the past (killing baby thanos doesn't change the present) and then they say that you create a alternate timeline or branch only if you take away an infinity stone from the past...wtf

Love these guys, i hope they write more movies for the mcu

I LOVE LOVE listening to the screen writers more!!! its better than with the director

These two are a great interview.

Smart interview. Well done!

This was a good interview. I wish we'd have more interviews with writers

If only these guys wrote the last season of Game of Thrones.

Great questions. Great answers. Great interview. Great mind. Great ideas. AWESOME F*CKING MOVIE! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THIS MOVIE!

the sarcasm at the beginning was so realistic I was like "...............(types google, box office = $2. something Billion)

20:52 This is where the deep stuff starts

I think putting Hulk becoming Professor Hulk in Infinity War would have been better, my least favorite thing about endgame was that we spent an entire movie watching Bruce Banner struggling to get Hulk to come out only for it to be resolved offscreen.

I'm just gonna say it...Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely seem like pleasant fellows.

What we need is both screen writer and the directors and kevin feige in one room and seen how chaotic and how the debate going abt their different interpretations of the time heist.

Tony vs Heimdall 🤯🤯🤯

Good talk, Good Hosting. Well done, Yahoo.

"....explain time travel..." I'm like yes, please

"Aren't you more handsome than a year ago" "Ehh I dont know about that.... my hair is thinning" Same bro, same.

49.43 they briefly mention the name of Braddock being dropped saying it's Cap B - though I'd assume it's his father as the timing would be wrong if they are intro-ing the Cap later.

great interview. very insightful. one thing I like that I have learned is marvel does the private test screenings to see how things play out and people react. This is similar to motown music, they would have a room of people to listen to a song and they vote if good or bad. marvel seems to do the same thing and they use their team to decide if they are on the right track or not

I would not change anything about that movie, but I must admit that I would love to have seen Heimdal fight Iron-man.

Great screenwriters session !

Slapshot shirt is my favorite part of this interview and I'm like 3 min in

It would have been nice to see Bruce meeting natasha in the soul gem when he snapped his fingers

Great interview and great movie

What about people who were snapped away while in a airplane, when they re-materialize, do they just fall back to earth as the plane is no longer in that spot after 5 years?

42:00 time travel talk

Writers are so underrated

I like Markus and McFeely's version of Cap's ending better than the Russo's.

One question I have that I haven't seen asked; was there ever a time when they wanted to include the TV characters in act three, even for just a cameo?

what happened to soul world? why didnt hulk and tony see soul world when they snapped their fingers?

"That's what's called: someone else's problem." *Que Wandavision*

I loved rocket referring to mantis as the chick with the antenna, but he didnt list groot first, did he?

I get the feeling that the first Avengers (2012), Infinity Wars and Endgame kind of correspond to A New Hope, Empire and Return of the Jedi. The tone of these three films, both in the case of Star Wars and Avengers, follows the same progression. As New Hope sets up the world, so does Avengers; as Empire leaves you emotionally devastated, so does Infinity Wars; and as Jedi leaves you cheering, so does Endgame. The one hiccup is, of course, Tony's death.

Money is the standard for how we judge art. And it is not even an awkward thing. It is exciting, nice and high note.

I do disagree with “it’s only if you remove the stones that you create a branch reality”. That’s not exactly what the ancient one says. And that’s not the logical basis of using Quantum theory for time travel. Since there are no “Infinity Stones” in Quantum theory. [the ancient one uses removing the stones as an example - but the logic applies to any major change that is not reversed obviously] I interpret the ancient one as saying that if you significantly change the past - you get a branch reality - leading to a new future, instead of changing your present. This is also what the director’s imply. On this point I respectfully agree with the directors, and not one of the writers. 45:00

They should have kept the Hulk superhero scene he always had less screen time. I'm glad they put it in the extended version even though it's at the end and not CGIed yet. I hope we'll get it in the digital version

Winter Soldier remains my favorite MCU movie (although, to be honest, it's tied with Guardians Vol).

Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus' explanation of time travel falls apart at the 46:00 mark when they talk about Peggy's children always been Steve's (Captain America), as that would imply that traveling to the past can change the future. Per the rules explained in the movie, you cannot change the past--the past will be your new future and the future will be your past. Steve going back and time and living a life with Peggy is a new reality that cannot happen in current day, as the past is fixed. But the movie has a larger problem, as we never see how Steve returned. Every time saw time travel in Endgame, those traveling to the past needed a starting point and exit point, and the point was a time traveling portal. The Avengers leave and return via the Portal. However, the movie shows us that it is possible to travel farther back in time from your original origin point, but your exit still requires a portal exit point--heck, even Thanos needed an exit point to travel 9 years into the future. How the heck did Steve get back to the present without a portal? The Russus answered this question in a interview. They said that Steve traveled back to the future at some point--when wasn't made clear. I think it's safe to say that this isn't common knowledge and has left many people thinking that Steve waited until time caught up and returned to meet everyone at the time he left, as that's how the scene plays out. I was sort of hoping that that was the case as it would create the possibility of the MCU having a young and old Captain America occupying the same reality, opening the possibility of Chris Evens' return, but that seems doubtful. I'm not terribly disappointed, as I'm sure Sam Wilson will make a great Captain America. Chris did such a fine job playing Captain America that he is all I see (or hear) when I think of the character. I will miss him. I got a bit sidetracked. I just wanted to say that the writers' explanation of time travel at the end doesn't add up with what we saw. Changes in the past will not change the present.

McFeely and Markus have definitely established themselves as some of the great writers of Hollywood. I really loved listening to a conversation about my favorite aspect of filmmaking - the writing, and I love how they completed most of the character arcs. However, I take major issue with how they wrote the Hulk/Banner to Professor Hulk transition. Even showing the Hulk saving people from a burning building would have fallen short of explaining to the viewer how the Hulk-Banner amalgamation comes about. The Hulk is actually a very complex character, and how Banner's experiences lend to Hulk's rage and primal nature often got overlooked in the MCU. Notwithstanding the Universal distribution rights problem, there is still room for doing justice to the Hulk character without writing oneself into a corner, and even though these guys really tried, I feel that they didn't really do justice to the character. Why is it "off to the races" after the diner scene. Not only did that scene inadequately explain how the transition to Doc Green happened, it also didn't help the Hulk's arc. I understand that Banner is finally at peace with the Hulk, finally having worked out his life-threatening issues with the big guy, and I hate that that happened off-screen, but I'm willing to let that slide. Why is he dabbing and grinning away, when the world around is so dark and gloomy, though? No, really, I can see why going from feeling like an exposed nerve to achieving the perfect balance of two constantly-fighting identities can be a source of elation. But that doesn't change the fact that half the world is fucking dead. And don't tell me that it's because Banner didn't lose anybody significant. So didn't Natasha, but she was devastated, and it still showed five years after the snap. The movie succeeds in really showing me many of the characters' motivations for why they do what they do to undo the snap, but the Hulk is not one of those characters. There are plenty of smart superheroes, and there are plenty of strong ones, but there is only one superhuman who truly manifests the man vs monster dichotomy. That is the defining characteristic of the Hulk, a monster that must be kept at bay by a smart guy, because that monster is ready for a never-ending war (as that is precisely what Bruce is dealing with in his brain, a never ending war with the other identity, for control over the steering wheel). I'm not the kind of Hulk fan that just likes the Hulk for the brute that he is, I like the meta aspects of the character, the larger conversation to be had about inner demons. You can't just have the Hulk pose for photographs and expect me to move on. I love the MCU, but the exact reasons why I love characters like Iron Man and Captain America are why I have grown to detest the MCU hulk - character growth and the narrative of the sequence of events that lead to that growth. People shit on Ang Lee's Hulk, but at least he took the time to explain to me the sheer tragedy that is the Hulk's existence. The MCU has paid lip service to a character that I grew up loving and admiring. So no, I'm not just salty because the MCU Hulk is a depowered shadow of the comic book Hulk. My disappointment with the Hulk has more to do with the character's story in the MCU, or the lack thereof.

How can they say that those kids are Caps kids? Changing the past doesn’t change the future. Those kids already exists at the time of winter soldier movie. That time Cap didn’t even go back.

Multiverse is coming. Braddock was mentioned in Endgame and Cap B is in charge of the corp that polices the multiverse...

This was such an amazing interview. I didn't even realize that it was over 3 hours long. Very captivating. 👍

I wonder how natasha and bruce's 5 year lapse life would've changed if he had transformed into professor hulk during infinity war... i don't know, i still don't buy that they didn't see each other during that time! if she was running shield and he was a superhero........

They can write “Avengers Vs. X-men”

If you combine these guys together, you will see Joss Whedon

I feel the Morgan in the Soul Stone would've really worked if they used young Morgan instead. A whole lot of additional onions in the cinema to say the least

OMG if you think about it, In the Universe where Thor took his hammer and the Reality stone wasn't returned then it would be interesting if that Universe became a 'War of The Realms' world.

screenwriters explain time travel 41:22

I was wondering how it was decided that Nat and Clint went to Vormir.... in the MCU itself I mean.... I feel there was a closed conversation between Tony and Nebula, where they have to have discussed it, and who needs to go... hard choices... it can't have just been chance, to be believable in that universe.

41:15

Too many people down here that are still just not understanding the time travel in this movie despite the fact the writers literally explain it in the movie..as well as the movie doing that too.

I honestly think it would have been better if they didn't end the story with the new ability to time travel. Doesn't really provide closure.. It would have been better if Cap just return the stones, come back and they don't time travel anymore.

Oooooooh 31:33 he spills the beans not that it’s such a secret. Valkyrie is gay, supposedly all the Valkyrie were, and it’s a behind the scenes tidbit that when Valkyrie was telling about how the other one saved her in that slo mo flashback in Ragnarok, the unsaid thing was that was her lover. In one of the other recent interviews with the Russos, they mention there will be a reveal in the MCU soon one of the heroes being gay, so they could have been referring to Valkyrie.

🔲he calls them the OG Avengers like I have all this time !

haha two writers of the movie and two directors of the movie have a different take on how alternative timelines works

create rules for time travel to explain away a loop hole then break said rules at the end. hilarious lol

What about Roberto DaCosta

why didnt they go back to 2019 before thanos destroys the stones? 6 stones in 1 place

(Even though I say this at the end of the comment...I decided to note prior, as well - that I’ve seen the film 12 TIMES - to provide some “context” for my critique(s)). I do think it’s neat to hear screenwriters rather than directors, like some have said; however, I think the directors’ explanations etc have been MUCH MORE grounded & logical, while the writers seem to almost be doing an ex-post, ad-hoc (almost retcon) of what was meant/intended once fans’ theories & complaints began. It reminds me of that 90s saying #RetroChangoRearrangeO (esp “no we always saw there was two Caps & him doing that DIDN’T CHANGE THE TIMELINE 🤔) SMH... when fans & RU-vid creators, & not just #ComicCreators, (eg, creative writers etc) just trashing the “writers’ explanations,” I’m constantly 😂. And when a business professor can pick apart the story holes, just due to logical-framing training, you’ve failed guys 👎💩. But, overall, I still loved it, even w/ logic fails (which was hilarious given in video above they said they were enjoying making fun of other writers’ logic fails in prior movies during Endgame). It’s a solid 89 (90 on a curve), so still gets my applause (& my money from seeing it, literally (given this morning’s showing), #12Times. But BEYOND my CAP (timeline) COMPLAINT - my biggest complaint is that the 3rd act - ie, once Thanos realizes what’s going on - Is that the entire 3rd act would be an alternate timeline, which given Endgame is a “finale” makes it so that everything beyond Endgame is not in Marvel 616; they’d have to go back & try to redo the stone heists, again (likely w/ different ppl in different places & leveraging Dr Strange’s powers, esp Mirror Dimension, to steal the stones & snap after Cap returned them, which would allow Nebula to then gain the soul stone, & really achieve her ultimate growth of a character arc).

Why couldnt they get the reality stone when it was with the collector, that wouldve been easier, but We wouldnt have had that great scene with Thor and his mother so, it didnt matter

La-da-da-da-dah It's the motherfuckin' D-O-double-G

re: thanos butt stuff, just imagine it from ant man's reference frame; staying same size but having a building-sized titan suddenly shrink around you.