'Avengers: Infinity War' Writers Discuss The Logistics Of Including The Defenders In The Fight

Marvel Studios already brought several superhero film franchises together when they assembled The Avengers back in 2012. Now they're getting them back together every few years with new franchises beginning and previous solo superhero franchises continuing in the years between. The same approach is coming together over at Netflix with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist getting their own shows to lead to an assemble of The Defenders. But will the two ever meet?

Fans are hungry to see the simultaneously connected but separate worlds of Marvel's movies and TV shows come together in a big way, and many are hoping that it will happen in the two-part sequel Avengers: Infinity War. Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, fresh off scripting Captain America: Civil War, recently addressed the possibility of a Defenders Avengers crossover in Infinity War, and the chances don't seem to be very high.

In a new interview with IGN, the writing duo was asked about bringing the small screen superhero team to movie theaters, and while they're not opposed to making it happen, it's not really up to them. Additionally, the logistics of the TV production schedule together compared to the production schedule for a Marvel movie make the possibility a little challenging. Here's what Markus and McFeely had to say on the matter:

McFeely: We are open to any of it, although it's really not our call.

Markus: A lot of it is a pace thing in that we have to have this thing done so much ahead of time, that they might get all the way through that Defenders show before we start shooting, certainly before anything comes out. So we don't know where they're going to be. It's very hard logistically to keep even the movie characters synced up. It's nearly impossible given the speed that TV cranks out the changes.

McFeely: The story that they eat up, yeah.

What they're saying is that television moves so fast that they couldn't effectively write The Defenders into the script and still take into account everything that will have happened by the time the movie actually is released. McFeely and Markus are writing Infinity War right now, so they would use what information they have at their disposal from the Marvel television side of things to write the characters into the script. But in the average two years it takes for a blockbuster movie to go through pre-production, shooting and post-production, so much more will happen to the TV characters narratively in that time that the version written into the screenplay may feel outdated.

At the same time, as fast as television moves, it doesn't move fast enough for any future details for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage or Iron Fist to be written far enough in advance to be given to Markus and McFeely for a point of reference. It's all just very difficult to make happen, and with the Marvel TV side growing (a series for The Punisher is on the way next) just as much as the film side, it's only going to get harder.

Co-director Anthony Russo addressed this issue last year, but he discussed the fact that while Marvel's TV shows take place in the same universe as the movies, creatively they function as independent units. That also makes a crossover a little difficult to make possible. Of course, at one time it was thought impossible for Spider-Man to play in the Marvel cinematic universe, and now he's in theaters playing with The Avengers in Captain America: Civil War. So maybe with some time, Marvel can get The Defenders and The Avengers on screen together.

The Defenders is supposed to start shooting later this year with Daredevil's Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez in control as showrunners, but no release date has been determined yet. Meanwhile, The Avengers: Infinity War is supposed to start shooting this fall with the first part arriving on May 4, 2018 and the second part on May 3, 2019.