“When I first started talking to Marvel, you guys (The Russo Brothers) were in post (on Captain America: Civil War). Making a film when your lead actor has been cast by somebody else is scary, you know what I mean? It terrified me, and I knew Chadwick was crazy talented, and I didn’t know him at the time, but seeing the decisions that you guys made, it went past being a sigh of relief for me, to go and make the movie. It took me to being a fan again, a kid again, feeling like you’re in on something. My generation, Star Wars was something that happened before I was born, so somebody’s dad was like, ‘Yo, check this out.” Harrison Ford is there, and I know Harrison from The Fugitive. This is something they did before I was around. Like Rocky Balboa, I know Sylvester Stallone from Cliffhanger. I just want to tell me kids about the first time I saw Chadwick as Black Panther, the first time I was in the theater when Robert Downey showed up and put the Iron Man suit on. Those things you feel a sense of ownership of. That’s something I could never thank you guys enough for, that you were competent enough to know who the guy was and lay the groundwork.”
Coogler Got Notes on Black Panther From Coppola
Before a film’s release, studios like Marvel often hold what are known as “friends and family” screenings, and it was at one of these screenings for Black Panther where Ryan Coogler got to meet Francis Ford Coppola. The meeting was serendipitous since Coppola’s The Godfather was a big influence on Black Panther, and Coppola had plenty of recommendations for the young filmmaker after watching the movie.
“There’s a little bit of Hamlet there, but we’re looking at The Godfather, and it’s crazy because I got a chance to meet Francis. He watched the film at the Ranch, while we were still on the second friends and family (screening), and I’m just like sick, like sick with nerves, out of my mind. After the movie was over, he was just talking like this (snapping fingers rapidly), giving me notes faster than I could write. He just started naming all these movies and all these books that I needed to go read. He was like, ‘Have you seen Brigadoon?’ I was like, ‘Nah, I’ve never seen Brigadoon,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh man, you’ve gotta see Brigadoon cause you’ve got this thing going on in this.’ And he said, ‘Have you ever read Shahnameh? I’m like Shahna-what? He’s like, ‘Oh, you’ve gotta read Shahnameh, it’s this Persian story about the kings who had sons who inherited the throne, and it was a big inspiration for The Godfather.’ We kind of saw Chadwick’s character as Michael and his father as Don, he had to fill the shoes of this great man who was also his father. So he was just rattling off all this stuff, and you realize that everybody just pulls from everything.”
Gunn’s Inspiration for Rocket Was Frankenstein’s Monster
After Coogler revealed how big an influence The Godfather and Hamlet were on Black Panther, Favreau asked if there were any other specific movies that the filmmakers were influenced by. James Gunn stated that, for the crass Rocket Raccoon character, he was most directly influenced by the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
“For me, Rocket is Frankenstein’s monster. He is this little creature who was this innocent animal who was turned into something that isn’t what he was supposed to be. He’s completely alone, completely lost and has no tenderness from anyone. For me, that was the seed, from which the entire story grew.”
Anthony Russo Reveals Why They Paired Thor
The Russos Break Down Avengers: Infinity War's New Team-Ups
One of the aspects of Avengers: Infinity War most fans were looking forward to were the interactions between characters we all know and love, but who other characters have never met or heard of yet. One of these pairings is Thor and Rocket. Anthony Russo revealed this pairing was at the heart of this massive story they told, while touching on how Thor: Ragnarok so seamlessly transitioned to Avengers: Infinity War.
“We needed to create a situation where you really believe that Thor was gonna kill Thanos. That was the story of the film, his journey to that, and it’s that extreme level of suffering that character has gone through, from the end of Thor: Ragnarok and then carried into the beginning of Infinity War, this guy has just like lost everything. It’s that level of sadness that imbues him with that underdog quality that becomes the heart of the movie and you start to root for him. And you believe this energy that’s going to carry you through the climax. That pairing, I think, was very interesting on that level, because they sort of share that DNA.”
Joe Russo on How All of These Separate Worlds Come Together
The sheer size and scope of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never been attempted on this level before, and while many have tried to replicate their success (DCEU, Dark Universe, X-Men), none have found anywhere near the same level of success. Joe Russo commented on how revolutionary this form of storytelling is, while discussing how there were two separate movies shooting at the same time as Infinity War.
“I remember when we came over to see (Ryan Coogler), you were shooting, and Taika (Waititi) was shooting at the same time. You were building a whole universe, and he was re-toning, while we were shooting, so we were trying to absorb information from both of you. I think we’ve all made standalone stories. What’s fascinating about Marvel is it’s a new form of storytelling. It’s this giant band of people playing, passing instruments around, trading licks. We’re trying different things with tone, different things with humor, drama, thematics, on a very big cultural canvas in a way that hasn’t been done before.