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Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are so prolific together they've become synonymous with one another. They’ve collaborated on each and every professional credit save for one; an acting gig. They both appear side by side as SHIELD Interrogators #’s 1 & 2 in Captain America: Winter Soldier, but only McFeely is credited as Secretary Ross’ Aide in Infinity War. (For shame! But they wrote the film together so I guess we’ll let this one pass). Hell, their Wikipedia page is even a double bill: ‘Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely”.

Markus and McFeely have not stopped or even slowed since kicking off the Chronicles of Narnia trilogy in 2005. They then took to Marvel, writing much of the MCU’s greatest hits including the Captain America Trilogy (First Avenger, Winter Soldier, and Civil War), Thor: The Dark World, and of course Avengers: Infinity War, followed closely by Avengers: Endgame. They also created ABC’s Agent Carter series together (and wrote the often unfairly maligned Pain and Gain).

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Image via Marvel Studios

Year after year, this duo writes some of the biggest tentpole movies with more depth and attention to detail than most blockbusters are ever given, not to mention the world-building and seed-planting for future franchise growth that is unrivaled in cinema. Endgame was a downright victory lap of 3 Phases worth of Marvel Studios films, culminating in a tour-de-force retrospective of their work! With each new project, they manage to appease most comic fans, while modifying classic comic storylines to suit modern cinema time and time again. But how?

I sat down with Markus and McFeely at San Diego Comic-Con to discuss their process of adapting from comic to screen, how we’ve evolved past the age of the deep-cut, and which Marvel universes and characters they’d love to write.

Markus and McFeely:

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Image via Agbo
  • Their Partnership within the Russo Bros. Production Company AGBO
  • Captain America and Iron Man exchanging throughlines, and Thor finding himself. How early were the intentional seeds of Endgame planted.
  • Killing your Darlings in the MCU
  • Unfilmed scenes in Infinity War
  • Collaborating within the Marvel Universe vs. Pain & Gain
  • Which alternate universe within Marvel they’d play in
  • Moon Knight, MODOK, and Captain Britain Oh My!
  • Winter Soldier becoming Mainstream, from Deep Cut to Zeitgeist
  • Which character from the Fox/Marvel merger they’re most excited to see on the big screen.
  • Would you rather? Destroying iconic comic arcs edition.
  • How fresh eyes helped build the MCU
  • The Avengers issue that inspired Endgame!
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Image via Marvel Studios
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Image via Marvel Studios
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Image via Marvel Studios