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Major spoilers forAvengers: Endgamebelow.
Im with you 100 percent.
Lets do this thing.
How does a Stan Lee cameo come together?
And we attempt to make it have some narrative richness and also make it entertaining for the fans.
ForWinter Soldier, its the security guard when Cap steals his suit back.
Very poignant moment in the movie.
AndCivil War, Tony Stank.
Joe Russo: [Laughs.]
Right, Tony Stank.
AR: AndInfinity War, um …
The bus driver.AR: The bus driver with Peter Parker.
Peters introduction to the movie.
JR: Havent you ever seen a spaceship before?
Perfect Stan Lee moment.
AR: And then, a very poignant last appearance, which is set in the past.
And we aged him down for it.
Yknow, got some pictures of Stan from the 70s.
So its not there in the script stage?JR: Its not.
Well spend a couple hours going, Okay, where does Stan go in the movie?
AR: The development process is like painted layers.
Its definitely one of the last layers.
Because the story lines became hermetic at that point; youre in space.
AR: Stans probably not gonna be hanging out in Wakanda.
JR: The tone shifted.
And that was the part of the movie that could hold the cameo.
What was it like shooting with him for this one?
He was near the end of his life at that point.AR: He was.
OnWinter Soldier, he came on set and the energy he had was amazing and so inspiring.
You could see how excited he was to be there.
He was talking to everybody.
It was like a magnetic personality.
You hear his voice and youre a kid again.
It does it to everybody.
Its very, very funny.
But at the end of the day, we had to sorta focus it.
Cause we were outside with it.
Summer 2018?JR: Yeah.
Speaking of good-byes, we should talk about Iron Man.
And theres been a lot of movement.
I think he started off in an inverse place from where he finished.
He was an egoist.
I think thats a very compelling arc for him as a character.
The very same child that he was trying to protect at the beginning of the movie.
Its a very hard choice for him.
Captain America starts from … And these guys are the core of the Avengers.
I was gonna ask you about that.
I didnt really care, personally, I just enjoyed the character beat.
AR: So you cant actually rationalize it and logic it out.
If you listen to what Hulk says, he says that your present is always fixed.
Even if you leave that present to go to the past, then that present has become your past.
And now the new past is your new present.
The past that you come to is the new present.
And anything you do out of that is going to create a new future.
Theres no butterfly effect.
You cannot affect that present in any way, shape, or form by affecting the past.
And thats where it came up.
To get to that bench, he would have to travel through the Quantum Realm.
On a completely unrelated note, Joe, you have a star turn inEndgame.
Your Best Actor Oscar is on the way, Im sure.
I had to make a choice at some point very early on.
I remember Soderbergh, over our first lunch, saying, I think you should pick a lane.
You should either act or direct.
And I think you guys should keep directing together.
So I gave up acting, but occasionally Ill just play a cameo.
Because, again, were dealing with a story point that affects half of all living beings.
If youre gonna have a story point like that, you have to go beyond the Avengers.
And its just as valid for an Everyman to be gay as for an Everyman to be straight.
So it really just flowed from that idea.
It was really that simple, at the end of the day.
And speaking of queer couples: Lets talk about Steve and Bucky.Both: [Laughter.]
Theres been some frustration among fans of the characters that they dont do much together in the movie.
Was there Cap/Bucky stuff on the cutting-room floor?JR:No.
It was quite the communal experience.AR: And how often can you experience that in a movie theater?
People are having a rare experience.
And youre bringing them to a close.
Its generating an incredible amount of energy.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
