Marvel Studios is somewhat notorious for going into production on its films without a finished script. That has happened once again on Avengers: Doomsday—one of Marvel’s biggest and most expensive movies—but directors Joe and Anthony Russo aren’t too bothered by cobbling together the script on the fly.
Avengers: Doomsday Started Without a Finished Script
“We always view the script as a living organism,” Anthony told the Associated Press.
Joe added, “We’re improvisation-based, rehearsal-based directors. We like to see what the actors bring to the characters, and sometimes you don’t get the actors until a few days or few weeks before you shoot them. And a lot of the time, that’s when the magic happens.“
Making movies is a collaborative creative process that’s constantly evolving. I get that. A new line, a new moment, a new location, any of these things can pop up on the day. But when it comes to these huge blockbusters, especially ones that involve an enormous cast of very busy actors, you’d think Marvel would want plans to be a little more concrete. But maybe that’s just me.
Doomsday and Secret Wars are particularly huge productions, but the Russo Brothers do have the experience to back it up. “The MCU is this massive experiment in how vast, how much scope can an ensemble really have?” Anthony said. “If we have a taste and talent for ensemble storytelling, we’re certainly pushing ourselves further than we ever have before.“
“When you’re doing one of these movies it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done,” Joe said. “When you’re doing two of them, it’s almost inconceivable. But it’s the second time around we’re doing two back to back.“
At the moment, the pair are finishing up work on Doomsday, while “soft-prepping” production on Secret Wars.
James Gunn Sees Things Differently
After witnessing Marvel’s habit of starting production without a finished script, James Gunn knew he wanted to do things differently at DC Studios. He has vowed that no DC project will move ahead without a finished script.
“I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies,” Gunn told The Rolling Stone last year. “It’s not because of home screens getting so good. The number-one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.”
Of course, he also noted that “Supergirl’s script was so f***ing good off the bat.” When the movie debuted earlier this summer, the script was one of the most criticized elements.
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