(METAL CLANGING)
The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe started in May of 2008
with the release of Iron Man 1.
And it really is an unprecedented journey.
LOUIS D'ESPOSITO: It's been interesting watching
Tony Stark evolve, there's an emotional resonance.
His relationship with the other Avengers,
his relationship with Pepper Potts,
his relationship, most importantly, with himself,
and how that's developed from film to film has been quite extraordinary.
To see Tony get to a point where he is introspective,
where he is thinking about the things
that they have saved over the years has been amazing.
He is the heart of the Universe.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: It's just been this
magical thing that occurred,
this kind of really risky idea of bringing this whole world to life.
And I think with Thor, you had Hemsworth in front
and there was this very sci-fi version of a Marvel picture.
In each film, he has grown a greater affection for Earth and humans
than the first time we saw him, when he was arrogant.
There can be this great kind of
strength and knowledge and power with him,
but there's also a naive kid there at the center of it.
It's nice to have that contrast and that mix.
His biggest concern is the well-being of this world.
And he very much is sort of looking out further into the universe,
to make sure that threat doesn't consume this world as well.
I think the most challenging one of all of them was Cap.
This kind of guy-out-of-time,
and "Is it too retro? Are people gonna get it?"
With Evans and Johnston the first time around,
it was like, "Yes, we get it, and you get it and you like it."
Initially I'm just trying to build a foundation of who this guy is.
But you feel like you know the character now.
FEIGE: The first Captain America film is subtitled, "The First Avenger,"
because that's really what Cap is.
Born out of the technology of the 1940s,
frozen in ice, coming back into the present day.
He then goes into the Avengers
and you realize, in a lot of ways, he's the moral backbone of the Avengers.
- How do we do this? - As a team.
(ROARS)
D'ESPOSITO: We have Thor, Cap, the Hulk, Iron Man
finally come together in Avengers.
That was something new that people had never seen before.
NICK FURY: There was an idea to bring together
a group of remarkable people.
See if they could work together when we needed them to.
To fight the battles that we never could.
For us, that's what an Avengers movie is all about.
How are they gonna react?
Do they like each other? Do they hate each other?
Do they get along? Do they become instant best friends?
That is the heart and soul of an Avengers film.
As the Universe grows,
it's really nice to grow with the character as I have.
She has a greater calling.
MARK RUFFALO: Each movie, I am excited
by the idea of reinventing Hulk.
Struggle and challenge just brings out the best of us.
The first Avengers was about them meeting each other for the first time.
In Age of Ultron, they're getting to know each other for the first time.
There is a real sense of unity between the Avengers at this point,
so there's something to attack.
My favorite part about Avengers: Age of Ultron is
a feeling of ending of an era and the beginning of another,
leading to Captain America: Civil War.
Civil War was primarily a conflict between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.
Cap went from being this guy who was built by the government
and his allegiance was to the government,
and it was a blind allegiance.
And Tony was kinda always flipping the bird to the government,
doing what he wanted to do.
And was kind of this rogue entrepreneur,
and over the course of these movies now,
it's just kind of evolved, and the tables have turned a bit.
JOE RUSSO: Civil War was an incredibly impactful event
that had major ramifications in the Avengers and in the Marvel Universe.
It's fun to take the characters that exist to new places.
And then it's equally exciting to bring in the new players.
And that's why things like Doctor Strange,
things like Guardians of the Galaxy,
allows you to keep expanding the tone as you go.
I think all of that just builds the sort of mystique and mystery
that is part of every movie that they do.
There is just quite a great emotional journey
within the films.
What we've seen happen within the Marvel Universe is this ever-expanding
coterie of superheroes.
And I think now we're at the stage
where this universe, even with our world, has got quite crowded,
and it's just about to explode into other dimensions.
TONY: I was shown my legacy.
The end of the path I started us on.
Everyone has their favorite Marvel movie,
and everyone has their favorite Marvel world,
and just to see all of them coming together,
it's a daring act.
Who the hell are you guys?
Every story that Marvel has told since Iron Man 1
finds a narrative thread in these next two Avengers movies.
It is a culmination of all of that storytelling.
With Infinity War, we're paying off every little thread
and every little tease that we've had
in what will be 18 films prior to Infinity War.
There's never been anything like this,
being able to, film after film, tease at a larger story,
really building these stories up into a giant conclusion.
While at the same time,
introducing an entirely new direction for the future.