Making 'Avengers: Endgame' was exhausting: Director

"Avengers: Endgame" is culmination of over 20 Marvel movies, and co-director Joe Russo says wrapping up 10 years of storytelling was not at all an easy task.

"It was very difficult. There's a lot of focus on a lot of characters,and (has) incredible amount of stories... (It is) 11 years of narrative culminating in one movie," said Joe, one half of the Russo brothers.

"This movie focuses on the six original Avengers and closes the book and the stories being told about them in the last decade. We spent a lot of time with the writers to see that we deliver a powerful, emotionally impactful ending a and hopefully it will be delivered.

"'Avengers: Endgame' was not easy movie... It was very difficult and exhausting," he added.

Joe was happy to begin the press tour of "Avengers: Endgame" with India.

"We insisted for India to be the first stop of our press tour because of the incredible response to '...Infinity War'. We had been wanting to come here for a long time. We have heard so much about India," Joe said at the launch of Marvel anthem, which has been created by Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman, here on Monday.

Opening up about the anthem, he said: "I have goosebumps every time I watch this anthem. The song is in Hindi but goes so well with the emotions in the film... The song embodies the film's spirit."

He feels the world of Marvel Cinematic Universe will get more diverse soon.

"I don't run Marvel, but I can say that storytelling is becoming diverse. That's the future of Marvel. The reason I am here is because the audience from across the world has reacted to us. I am certain that different cultures will start seeing themselves represented on screen and will start identifying with characters on screen," he said.

Joe also claimed that "Avengers: Endgame" marks final cameo appearance of late comic legend Stan Lee.

He said: "I wouldn't be standing here without him. I believe one of his final cameo is in '...Endgame.' I don't remember if he was well enough to do the 'Spider-Man' cameo. But it was incredible working with him.

"I grew up on his comic books. Stan Lee was my idol when I was a kid. To be able to have the opportunity to not only work on the material that he created but to work with him is a childhood dream come true."

Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame", starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, is slated to release in India on April 26 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

(Sugandha Rawal is in Mumbai on an invitation by Disney India. She can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)

--IANS

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