Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 and 2 Will Shoot Back-to-Back for Nine Months Straight

If you think Avengers: Age of Ultron is going to be epic, Marvel is just warming up. After the next movies of the MCU’s phase 3, Marvel will build up to a two part cross over extravaganza that will hit screens in 2018 and 2019, almost a year apart to the day. All the major heroes are expected to join the “Infinity War,” but we may see some minor ones appear as well.

Despite who shows up in the two-part conclusion, it’s sure to be a massive film both logistically and financially. Today, we have our first glimpse on how that’s being tackled.

How do they plan to shoot it?

Back to back for nine months straight, it seems. According to Chris Evans, he is shooting Civil War, then has some down time… then it’s back to the super powered salt mines:

“You know, you plan around the Marvel responsibilities. You have to. We start [Captain America: Civil War] in a couple weeks, and then that shoots until August or something like that. August or September. Then I’ve got some downtime and I can do with it as I please. I don’t know if I want to take time off or go pursue another directing job or find a movie to act in or, you know, do whatever I’m creatively inclined to pursue or wait, relax, enjoy my life. And then start the Infinity War, I think, sometime in the third quarter. Fall or winter of 2016. That’s going to be like nine months to shoot both movies back to back.”

Shooting back to back? Has that been done before?

Many times. The Lord of the Rings movies were all shot at the same time and not necessarily in order. The Hobbit movies were also shot in one long nine month period, or rather 266 days. Other big franchises that have shot films back to back have been The Matrix sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3, and the Back to the Future sequels.

Ummm… I dunno about this.

It’s a little early to start doubting the quality of the films. Sure, other franchises have suffered from employing back to back shooting in the past, but at this point Marvel is a well oiled super hero movie machine. They turn out two (soon to be three) movies a year of solid quality. The only difference with Avengers: Infinity War is that more prep work is required, though it’s not outside the realm of possibility to believe they’ve been preparing for this movie for quite some time.

The really long number includes pre and post production. It may be a nine month shoot for the crew, but the films are going to be a 4-5 year endeavor for the directors. After two Captain America movies, that’s no small chunk of their lives.

Don’t know what the Infinity War will be all about? Check out our guide to the infinity stones.