Avengers: Infinity War became the movie that not only broke plenty of records at the Box Office, but it also made new records in many other categories. One thing that it did better than any other MCU movie was raising the stakes of the movie. But one of the reasons why this film stands out over any other film is that it brought in the most number of superheroes together and a massive cast of side characters. The film was full of surprises, and one big reveal apart from the ending was the reemergence of Red Skull.
The story thread of Captain America villain Red Skull was left hanging ever since 2010’s Captain America – The First Avenger. Everyone thought that Red Skull has to return somewhere down the lane, but no one really knew what to expect. Come Infinity War, Red Skull stepped out of the shadows at Vormir when no one expected him to.
The reason why people were so oblivious of his return was that Hugo Weaving told everyone multiple times that he doesn’t wish to return as the Captain America villain again. He was still under contract for one more appearance, but still, Marvel went the other way, and brought in Ross Marquand.
He based his portrayal of the character off Weaving’s Matrix villain Agent Smith “but with a German accent.” Here’s what Ross Marquand said about portraying Red Skull in an interview:
“I loved playing Red Skull, I hope I can come back and play him again. We’ll see”
Considering it was a new actor playing the character, Red Skull did not really look or sound that different, but we could distinguish the two if we put them together. This slight change in his look and a big change in his outfit was self-explanatory as he spent a lifetime on Vormir and logically, time does that to you. But what’s interesting is that Red Skull almost got a Gollum (from the Lord of the Rings trilogy) like design in early concept arts.
Marvel Studios artist Jerad S. Marantz shred his unique design for Res Skull on Instagram, and here’s what he wrote:
“This is always fun to show. Here’s some process. Before starting options for the #redskull return in #avengersinfinitywar I did these sketches, literally for “yeas or nays“ We were moving pretty quick and they wanted to see really destroyed versions of the character. I did these sketches and got the OK to move into 3-D. One of my favorite things about working in visual development at marvel is that at the very least, the internal team can read a doodle. I love being able to explore a bunch of ideas and do a ton of ugly drawing before Slowing down the process and refining the concept.”
Since Marvel brought in a new actor, he could obviously return to play Red Skull post-Avengers: Endgame. Here’s what Avengers: Infinity War writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely had to say about his return, and possible continuation post-Avengers 4.
“Christopher Markus – Cinematically, he’s the first one to be obsessed with these Infinity Stones in the MCU and he clearly did not die at the end of First Avenger. The idea of where he might have gone is so tantalizing and much like being able to fill roles that would be there anywhere with William Hurt or Benicio Del Toro, he fit this moment perfectly.
Stephen McFeely – The MCU is a unique experiment and the fact that we’ve been there for all the phases is a privilege but we know where all the bodies are buried.Sometimes, you can dig a body up and put him in a scene.”
Well, we’d sure like for Red Skull to return in Avengers: Endgame and give us the priceless reaction of Captain America when he sees him. In 3 hours of run time, that is entirely possible. Avengers: Endgame comes out on April 26.
