Kevin Feige explains how ‘dusted’ characters were chosen in Avengers: Infinity War

Kevin Feige explains how Marvel chose the heroes who would be snapped out of existence in Avengers: Infinity War.

Marvel fans are feeling optimistic about the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame on the horizon. But that doesn’t mean they’re not still reeling from the earth-shattering events of Avengers: Infinity War. The film’s ending saw the demise of several key MCU heroes like Doctor Strange and Bucky. And Marvel was very deliberate about who would bite the dust (sorry).

While speaking to Rotten Tomatoes, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige reflected on Infinity War’s shocking ending, and detailed how the studio chose which characters to “dust”:

"“We spent, it’s no exaggeration, years, in a room. Myself, our executive producer at Marvel Studios, Trinh Tran, Joe and Anthony Russo, and our screenwriters Chris Markus and Steve McFeely, years working on Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. And one of the fun games was we had character cards that were spread on a table, that were up on white boards, and deciding who was going to go at the end…and they moved around a little bit, but for the most part, what you saw at the end of the movie is what we had determined early on…”"

The studio chief also admitted that most of these choices were made based on how much of a gut punch they would be for fans. This was especially true for characters Black Panther and Spider-Man. He also confirmed most fans’ suspicions that the goal was also to leave the original Avengers left standing:

"“…in large part because it would be the most heartbreaking. Seeing T’Challa go right after his first appearance, seeing Spider-Man go in Peter Parker after that relationship had been established between he and Tony Stark. And it also was designed to leave behind the original Avengers because Endgame very much follows their story.”"

Feige also went into further detail regarding the public’s initial reaction to the end of Infinity War. The emotional response originally began with test screenings:

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"“The end of Infinity War was traumatizing for us. It was traumatizing as we made it, as we shot, as we cut it together, as the visual effects starting coming in, and when we started to screen it was pretty amazing to see people sit there in shock that it had actually ended that way.”"

But overall, Feige sees this as a testament to the writers, directors, and actors who have managed to connect with audiences through the characters:

"“…and that’s a testament to our writers and to our filmmakers that put that together and to our cast that has become so beloved over the years that an audience is going to feel that emotionally drained by their loss.”"

To say the ending of Avengers: Infinity War was painful would be an understatement. Although it’s obvious these characters will return, the “dusting” scene will likely always stick with viewers who witnessed it on the big screen. Conversely, it is worrisome to think what the Avengers will have to do to bring back those characters. Some of them may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

There are a number of questions that still need to be answered, but it won’t be long until they’re revealed when Avengers: Endgame arrives on April 26th.