Marvel actor Elizabeth Olsen reveals she only knew of Avengers: Infinity War's Blip ending on the day of filming. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has come a long way in terms of scope and storytelling. Ever since 2012's The Avengers, the multimedia franchise has increased dramatically in production and has achieved a level of popularity that is barely rivaled by any other franchise. Producer Kevin Feige has made sure to respect the dynamic characters by presenting them in a relatable and entertaining way for the modern movie going audience.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe getting more audacious with every new project announced, the franchise has gained a reputation for being highly secretive. Fans love to debate what is going on behind closed doors, and Marvel Studios' ways to prevent any major leaks have become as interesting to audiences as the leaks themselves would be. As is common with these types of productions, scripts printed in negative color are used, so that they cannot be photocopied, and as Andrew Garfield's press tour for Spider-Man: No Way Home proved, actors are often instructed to flat-out lie about what happened on set. In some cases, however, actors are not told a thing during production, if they don't absolutely need to know.
In an interview with Variety, Olsen recalls the filming of Avengers: Infinity War. At the time, no one knew what was going to happen within the film, other than it would feature the first epic confrontation between the Avengers and Thanos, the Mad Titan. Olsen was on set along with most of the cast to film the final battle set in Wakanda. Prior to the big fight scene being filmed, none of the actors were given a script, and they only went in with the basic idea that the events of the film would lead into the then untitled sequel, Avengers: Endgame. Check out Olsen's full comments below:
I mean, those movies I really don’t know what’s going on. I just get my pages, so I understand the part of the story I’m fulfilling. I get a story that is told to me from the Russos about what’s happening in the rest of the movie. And it isn’t in the script that everyone gets blipped. Those movies, you could read a script in an office, with a security guard, on one specific iPad. And I was like, “Can you just give me what I need to know?” And I don’t really need to know what happens with Robert [Downey Jr.]’s whole part of the film. But we called it “The Wedding” on the schedule. But I didn’t know I got blipped away until we shot it. That was told to us that day. All of us went to the van where they had a bunch of equipment to show us pre-viz: Scarlett [Johansson], Chris [Hemsworth], Chadwick [Boseman], Sebastian [Stan]. We were all just in this van, and they said, “This is what’s happening. You guys will disappear.” And we’re like, “OK.” It was shocking. I mean, we didn’t know. We thought the movie ended differently.
Marvel Goes To Great Lengths To Keep Secrets
Production on Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame was notably hectic, as both films were shot back-to-back. Due to filming consisting of scenes being shot out of order, it was made even more difficult for the actors to be sure of what the context for each sequence was supposed to be. Brie Larson had to shoot Avengers: Endgame before her character's big debut in Captain Marvel, forcing her to try and figure out what her character's arc would be at that point. Olsen adds that, as far as she was concerned, the only thing she was certain of was that Infinity War was supposed to end with Vision's death and nothing more.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, so does the efforts to surprise fans and casual audiences about what to expect. While it seems strange to have actors like Olsen be kept in the dark, this also created intrigue among the stars, as they got a chance to experience what moviegoers felt when they sat in a theater and watched Avengers: Infinity War for the first time. The secrecy of the MCU also challenges actors to think outside the box and adds to their performances by giving them genuine reactions. With more movies and shows on the way, there is no telling what Feige and Marvel Studios have in store for their actors.