Infinity War is the biggest comic-book event in the history of MCU. It is the culmination of everything Marvel had been tirelessly working on for a decade. Most of the MCU characters from the 18 Marvel movies prior to Infinity War had some sort of role to play in the 19th MCU Blockbuster. This time Russos have pulled off a masterpiece by successfully interweaving multiple stories and character arcs. They have silenced MCU critics by adopting much darker tone, having a strong villain and real stakes with huge consequences.
Thanos has been built as the ultimate bad guy since he first appeared in the end credits of ‘The Avengers’. He is menacing as ever in Infinity War and was the most terrifying cosmic force that Avengers had ever faced. He is every bit as hyped and is both central protagonist & antagonist of the movie. He always wanted just one thing i.e bring balance to the universe even if it means half the life is destroyed.
He is on a quest to collect six Infinity stones i.e Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Time and Mind; each represents cosmic singularity that controls fundamental aspects of existence. Once he assembled the Infinity stones in the gauntlet, he did the unimaginable by snapping his fingers and the next thing you know is half the life is wiped out.
A lot of heroes are dead. The surviving heroes are too few to make a difference. And while most of the dead heroes are set to return (somehow), a major actor of the MCU franchise says he is unsure he will ever set foot on the sets of Marvel movies again. Here’s why a Major MCU Actor reveals why he won’t ever return in Avengers 4!!!!
Spoiler Alert: Infinity War Spoilers up ahead. Enter at your own risk….
Many of the Marvel actors returned to reprise their roles in Avengers: Infinity War. But one among them was a bit of a total surprise. Captain America’s greatest enemy and perhaps the oldest human super villain of the MCU, the Red Skull makes an appearance in Infinity War, acting as the torch bearer of the Soul Stone on Vormir and guiding travelers and explorers in search of power to the Soul Stone itself.
He once attempted to wield Cosmic Cube to become the most powerful villain but he failed in his mission and subsequently banished to Vormir. He was at the gates of Soul stone’s location when Thanos and Gamora came. He told Thanos that he could have Soul stone only on one condition i.e he must sacrifice a soul that he loved.
Gamora thought that this has been a wasted effort as Thanos has never loved anyone ever. But she was wrong as Thanos decided to sacrifice his favorite daughter Gamora and literally had tears in his eyes.
Hugo Weaving portrayed the Red Skull in The First Avenger but due to his hatred of the role due to the amount of time it took to put the prosthetics and makeup in place, he decided to abstain. As a result, Ross Marquand (Aaron from The Walking Dead) took the role and flawlessly portrayed the red-skinned, nose-less German in Infinity War. As it turns out, Marquand too is unsure if he will ever return in Avengers 4 as the Red Skull.
The Red Skull was last seen holding the Space Stone (the Tesseract) in Captain America: The First Avenger. The Stone then transported him into outer space and he was presumed dead. Red Skull was later found to be the Protector of the Soul Stone on Vormir.
The Super Soldier Serum running in Johann Schmidt’s blood has made him virtually ageless. He has also become a shadow of his former self. He now is skinny, frail and sports a black shroud on his head. That is the closest interpretation of Lady Death the MCU could ever give us since she was the primary reason for Thanos to obtain the Infinity Gauntlet in the comic books.
In an interview with EW’s Morning Live radio talk show, Ross Marquand says why Marvel Studios did not want him to re-invent the character in Avengers 4. He says Marvel does not want The Red Skull back in the sequel to Infinity War. He states:
The biggest thing that Marvel wanted to do was come as close to the iconic role that Hugo Weaving did seven years ago and pay homage to it while also giving it a new flavor. Because Red Skull, once he touched the Tesseract, he goes into this intergalactic astral plane for 70 years. And as the Russo brothers pointed out to me – because I was trying to do a straight voice match to Hugo’s performance – and then they said, “You know, he’s been by himself essentially in this intergalactic prison of his own making for 70 years. He’s going to sound a little different. So we want him to have this kind of ethereal almost ghost-like quality to his voice, so if you can do that.” I think the reference they might have given is Yoda-esque. His ambition has brought him this great pain, but also this great wisdom, and I think that’s what I tried to imbue that performance with.
I just loved playing this part because I genuinely used to draw Red Skull and Omega Red and all these other villains as a kid, and it was just such a geeky pleasure to play this part. I just absolutely love it.
Marquand plays Aaron in AMC’s The Walking Dead. Another MCU actor, Danai Gurira aka Okoye of the Dora Milaje also is a part of that TV Show.
Apparently, Marquand had to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement which even forbade him into revealing to Danai that he is also going to appear in Infinity War. When asked about the Red Skull’s future in the MCU, Marquand is much less secretive:
I don’t know. I can’t speak to that, and I think that I would obviously love to replay that role again anytime. It’s such a rich character, especially now that he’s gone to this intergalactic hellscape and he’s found his own prison there – not to quote Creed. That was a Creed song, right?
But he’s a changed man, and I don’t even know if he is a man anymore. He’s almost like this ghost-like deity, and he’s at the service of the Soul Stone now, and his sole purpose is to essentially guide people to this, but you have to wonder: Is there still a part of him that does have ambition? I don’t know. It would be really cool to see where that character goes. But that’s really a question for all the folks at Marvel and the Russo brothers and the writers. I certainly couldn’t speak to that.
Avengers: Infinity War is playing in theaters near you. It is directed by Russo brothers and produced by Marvel head Kevin Feige & Co. The script is co-written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
The ensemble cast is truly astonishing as Marvel has been able to bring host of A-List stars under single roof including Josh Brolin (Thanos), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Pratt (Star Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Sebastian Stan (Winter soldier), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (Groot), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Reiner (Hawkeye), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Tom Holland (Spiderman), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch), Karen Gillian (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Dave Bautista (Drax), Peter Dinklage (Eetri), Paul Bettany (Vision), Samuel Jackson (Nick Fury), Cobie Smulders (Mariah Hill).
The official movie synopsis reads:
“As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain”.
Don’t Miss: Here’s Why Captain Marvel Has Not Been In Any Previous Avengers Movies
