Russo Brothers reveals 'Avengers: Endgame' shot that was the most expensive in history

With a reported budget of $356 million, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ stands as one of the most expensive films of all time. And based on co-director Joe Russo’s recent comments at San Diego Comic-Con, it sounds like a significant proportion of their funding went towards a single, star-studded shot.

In the final minutes of the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ sequel, dozens of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) biggest names came together to pay their last respects to the late Tony Stark aka Iron Man.

According to one half of the Russo Brothers, there’s a chance that the shot featuring the attendees of Iron Man’s funeral was the most expensive ever filmed.

“We used to joke, and I don’t know if it's joking, it’s probably the most expensive shot in the movie history. That’s a lot of salary on the screen there,” Joe Russo remarked.

Co-writer Christopher Markus seconding the former joked, “For people to just stand there, they’re not even moving.”

Asked by host Kevin Smith if digital trickery was used to gather the mourners in one place, Joe Russo replied, “Everyone was there.”

“They were all brought there under this pretense that they were coming for a wedding — it’s kind of heartbreaking to think about now — but they all have managers, and agents, and hair and makeup, and we can’t tell anybody what we’re up to, because it can leak through one of a thousand sources,” he said.

“So they were all brought there under the pretense that they’re coming for a wedding, and the day they got there and we started to dress them in the black outfits, they said, ‘This is a very strange wedding.’ We said, ‘It’s because it’s a funeral."

“Plus they were going to the middle of nowhere in Georgia,” added Markus. “It was just a line of Escalades going into a horse farm.”

Only a select few actors were let in on the secret, including Pepper Potts star Gwyneth Paltrow, because “it was an enormous character moment for her, so we spoke with her previously,” Anthony Russo said.

“Maybe one or two of the other actors we knew it was a big moment for. But no, most of them found out on that day, so it’s a testament to what good actors they are,” he added further.

All said and done, we were glad that the star-studded scene was kept in the movie.

‘Avengers: Endgame’ releases on DVDs in August.