Summary
The Avengersfranchise has been the shining light of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it really took off as a shared universe, and one franchise star has now revealed that their iconic performance in a pivotalAvengersarc was inspired by a surprising source.
The Avengersare the backbone of Marvel Studios’ offerings and will likely remain so for a long while, with evenmassive changes to the MCU’s future not affecting this prominence. This position was cemented with the Infinity Saga that happened over the first three phases of the MCU and saw the rise of Thanos as well as a large cast of heroes, villains and more. While the films were well structured to a point, many agree thatthe films owe their massive success to the stellar performances and star power of the castas well as the dedication and professionalism of the crew.
One such pivotal performance was byAvengersstar Ross Marquand, who played an older Red Skull tasked with guarding one ofthe enigmatic infinity stones. Speaking withComicBook,Marquand revealed why his performance as the Red Skull inInfinity WarandAvengers: Endgamewas so drastically different from Hugo Weaving’s previous well-received rendition,crediting the Russo brothers for giving him the right view on the character. “They were great, and they gave me the best direction, because once I figured out what it was, I was thinking, ‘I gotta do a straight voice match to what Hugo [Weaving] did in [Captain America:] The First Avenger,’ which is very pitched,” Marquand revealed. “And the Russo brothers really stopped me, quickly, and they said, ‘No, no, no, no, this is a broken version of that character. He’s 80 years older but he’s cursed with infinite knowledge, and now he can fly and he’s got all these other powers, kind of like a phantom.’ He then reveals where the Russos found the inspiration for his eventual performance.
So they said, I think it was Joe Russo, he said, ‘I want you to infuse a bit of Yoda into this character, not voice-wise, but a creature that had been around for over a thousand years,’ and I thought, ‘Ah, okay.’ And that’s what brought the high-clipped, nasally, German tone down into something of this creature that had been alive and seen everything and just cursed with all this pain and knowledge, but could do nothing with it. Like Atlas holding up the Earth, he wants the [Infinity] Stones so badly but he can’t attain them now.”
Infinity Warwas a massive success on par withAvatar 2,and the tone set by Marqunad’s performance played a key role in turning up the emotional stakes of the film. Thinking along the lines that the Russos did,Yoda is the perfect mold for a time-worn character who’s seen it all. The venerable Jedi Master, who has, by his own account, been training Jedi for 800 years and has been a powerful observer of events even longer, can certainly be said to have seen it all by the time fans see him training Luke Skywalker. That detached, wise bearing makes the prospect of sacrifice not just serious but inevitable when the Red Skull reveals the path to the Infinity Stone he’s guarding. This scene is representative of the highest narrative points of the MCU.
Unfortunately, it seemsthe high points of the MCU are firmly in the rearvieweven by the company’s own reckoning, as seen with theAvengers: Secret Warscast now rumored to addCaptain America’sChris Evansback into the mix. Fans can only stand behind and observe how the MCU makes its way over the hurdles of fan fatigue that plagued the industry in 2023.
TheAvengersfranchise is currently available to stream on Disney+.
The Avengers
The Avengers is a group of comic book characters that consists of some of the world’s most iconic superheroes, such as The Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.The Avengers have been a powerful force in Hollywood for over a decade now, both as a collective and individually. The group has also starred in video games, such as LEGO Marvel’s Avengers and Marvel’s Avengers by Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix.
