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How Avengers: Infinity War Directors Anthony and Joe Russo Kept the Script Secret

In a world of spoilers and leaked episodes, new pre-release information about franchises such as The Avengers is like gold. And that, perhaps, is why Anthony and Joe Russo, who are directing the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, elected to not give their cast members full scripts. As Elizabeth Olsen, the actress behind the series’ Scarlet Witch, revealed to Stephen Colbert, the Russo brothers only supplied her with script pages immediately relevant to her character, and pertinent information needed to contextualize her scenes.

Tom Holland has also spoken of the extent to which the Russos have protected the script. In an interview with BBC, Holland, who plays Spider-Man, revealed that he wasn’t actually told who he was fighting in one of the scenes. While this might seem absurd, with modern technology and the computer-generated graphics some of the characters require, it is entirely possible for actors to film scenes in which they fight enemies that aren’t physically present.

For a franchise this large, this isn’t an imprudent practice. Just last week, spoilers about the latest episode of Game of Thrones was leaked by hackers, showing just how in-demand information about projects of this scale are. Infinity War is also a grand-scale movie, with a massive ensemble cast. It also stands to reason that the less information any one person has, the fewer spoilers there will be, whether accidental or otherwise.

Rather than hoping for an off-guard star to spill some details, it looks as though fans will simply have to wait for details to come from Marvel Studios itself. It’s definitely better this way; the film will arrive next year either way, and I – for one – welcome the chance to have the long-awaited film surprise me, sans spoilers.

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