Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige talks about the emotional process of filming Avengers: Infinity War. Said to be the culmination of everything that has transpired in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, the upcoming ensemble flick will unite every superhero existing on the film side of the franchise as they try to save the universe by foiling the evil plans of alien villain Thanos. As the Mad Titan finally emerges from the sidelines and takes it upon himself to collect all the Infinity Stones, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will need all the help they can get to make sure the extraterrestrial, and his cohorts, the Black Order, won’t be able to get their hands on the powerful gems.


The movie, directed by the Joe and Anthony Russo, will be massive in scale as it brings together everyone in the famed superhero franchise. The Guardians of the Galaxy will be descending on Earth (with help from Thor) and connect with their Earth-bound counterparts as they come up with a strategy that would ultimately fend off the supervillain. From there, the movie kicks into high gear, mining inspiration from heist films as our heroes try to race against Thanos to collect the Infinity Stones.


Speaking with Collider while promoting Marvel Studios’ latest project, Thor: Ragnarok, the company exec was questioned about what has surprised him the most throughout the rigorous process of creating a movie that would encapsulate the eventful 10-year run of the MCU.


“I don’t know if anything surprises me necessarily, but it is overwhelming. I guess what has surprised me is how emotional it all is. Every day, every dailies, every time an actor that has never interacted with a character comes in contact with a character they’ve never interacted with, it’s amazing. It’s both funny, it’s moving and just seeing all those people together in one spot is—you know me, I like to look ahead. I like to focus on, I’m already in Black Panther world, even though we’re talking about Ragnarok. We keep going. There is something very special about those movies that is happening everyday on set. It’s not just the crew that feels it, or me that feels it, it’s all the cast who are all mega-stars in their own right, yet feel privileged to be doing what they’re doing every day. Joe and Anthony handling it, two movies at the same time, in an unprecedented fashion.”


Infinity War and Avengers 4 (which filmed back-to-back) will obviously be nostalgic for fans, and, of course Feige, who literally built this huge franchise on the back of a B-list character in Iron Man. Marvel films are admittedly not perfect – with criticism about it being too formulaic and the countless use of underdeveloped villains – but no one can argue the significant impact its existence has had on Hollywood as it quickly became the most bankable franchise in the industry. The MCU set a new business model that is both critically and financially successful, and many companies are attempting to replicate or adpat the studio’s strategy.


Aside from the process of making Avengers: Infinity War being emotional, the actual narrative of the film is also expected to evoke an emotional reaction from viewers, with the very likely possibility of certain characters dying that we have grown to love over the years, specifically the franchise’s principal cast. Co-director Joe Russo promised that Avengers 3 and its sequel will have intense stakes, and aptly so given that everything in the last 10 years comes down to these two projects. We’ll soon get a sense of the mood of the movie once the first trailer drops before the end of the year as Feige previously promised.