Not that ‘Avengers: Endgame’ needs publicity– ticket pre-sales were so intense that sales sites crashed, with some now selling for thousands online– but Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, directors Joe and Anthony Russo, Jon Favreau, who helmed ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Iron Man 2’, and portrays Happy Hogan in various films, and most of the cast of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ assembled for the official press conference, for what looks to easily be the biggest movie event in memory. In an amusing touch, the creators and actors were scattered on stage amid an equal number of empty chairs meant to symbolize the absence of those that were turned to dust at the end of ‘Infinity War’.
While, as expected, nothing significant was revealed about ‘Endgame’– which is probably in keeping with fans’ wishes– each actor was given the spotlight to discuss their character and their place within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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Don Cheadle holds the unique distinction of playing a character– James “Rhodey” Rhodes, a.k.a. War-Machine– that was originally played by another actor, ‘Empire’s Terrance Howard. So in discussing his character’s evolution, Cheadle cracked up the rest of the cast his using terms that detail both the character’s emotional evolution as well as his physical metamorphosis.
“Rhodey obviously started as a lighter-toned individual, bigger than life, than I am in life. But as the character darkened and things became more compact — in the narrative — we’ve seen a real growth in this character as he’s gone through his trials and tribulations.”
In a more serious manner, Cheadle added:
“[War Machine is] really part of the team, and able to contribute at a high level. To get to keep coming back. It’s rare to have that kind of experience over the course of 10 years.”
Interestingly, War-Machine was one of the only later-additions to the Avengers who didn’t get dusted by Thanos’ snap. Is there some significance to that?
We’ll have to wait until ‘Avengers: Endgame’ opens on April 26 to find out!
Source: Entertainment Weekly
