STACK #163 May 2018

CINEMA

FEATURE

wattage to form a small galaxy; an estimated 125 household names, bringing together all of Marvel’s iconic characters in one film, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/ Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes/War Machine, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Paul Bettany as Vision, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Anthony Mackie as SamWilson/Falcon, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Benedict Wong as Wong, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Gwyneth

Ant-Man and theWasp

The Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline is divided into a number of phases – of which we are currently in the third. This phase kicked off with Captain America: Civil War , and following Avengers: Infinity War there are still three films to come. Next up is Ant- Man and the Wasp , which will reunite Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily as the pint-sized heroes of the title on July 5. Following that, we’ll get to see Brie Larson star as Captain Marvel in 2019, with the film reportedly set in the ‘90s. Moreover, Infinity War is only the first of a two-part Avengers adventure, and Part 2 also drops in 2019. As to the ultimate fate of some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, we can see the MCU looking a little different going forward...

Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Benicio Del Toro as The Collector, and Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord - united against one common enemy, Josh Brolin’s Thanos. Phew! Asked about his new “Iron Spider” suit, Tom Holland – known for previous plot spoiling bombs – looks bashful.

“I’m actually under strict instructions to keep my mouth shut… I don’t actually get to wear the Iron Spider suit because it’s too amazing to exist in real life, so I joined the wonderful Mark Ruffalo in a man-cancelling costume and stood amongst these gods wearing pajamas – which wasn’t quite as heroic as I would like.” Given Avatar director James Cameron’s recent commentary on Avengers fatigue and a desire to break away from what he perceives as overblown macho comic book stories, Ruffalo is left holding the mic for the day’s hot potato. “Umm, I’ve thought about that quite a bit and, you know, sour grapes,” he says amid hoots of laughter and applause. Tom Hiddleston, always the outsider as Loki, wryly comments, “I’m astonished that I’m still here, as you may be too. Loki has fallen through a wormhole and faked his own death and I honestly never expected to be playing this part for so long. The writers have been so great, creating these characters with such precision and what happens in the space between those characters is always unique and you’re guaranteed to see that in this film.”

Captain Marvel

to interact with, so I was pretty damn excited.” In describing Marvel’s inspiration behind the many-tentacled story that is Infinity War , studio head Kevin Feige tells us, “It all just comes down to the comics, ripping out the pages and putting them on walls and being inspired. In every single movie that we‘ve made, up to and especially with Infinity War , there are direct images and storylines. Rarely, but sometimes, there are actual lines of dialogue that comes off the pages. The comic books are always a North Star for us as we lead these giant productions.” For Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan, the embittered sisters who come together to fight the threat of their war-mongering father Thanos, this story has particular resonance. “We wouldn’t be what we are in the Marvel universe if it wasn’t for the emotional beats of these stories,” suggests Saldana. “Karen and I have so much fun with the relationship these daughters have with their father because they finally get an opportunity to address what it was like to have a dad who is so complicated.” Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Infinity War boasts enough star-

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Avengers: Infinity War

is in cinemas now

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