Marvel Studios is well known for many different reasons. For one, there's the fact that it is the largest cinematic universe to ever exist, and it's something many studios have tried to replicate, yet no one has even come close; the DCEU has come the closest, but its execution is quite messy—just ask Zack Snyder fans. Something else synonymous with Marvel Studios? Secrecy.
It's a a common joke around fans how Marvel Studios has snipers trained on its actors during interviews with the press, ready to pull the trigger if any secrets slip through their lips. Obviously, that's an exaggeration, but the company's commitment to keeping its secrets is admirable.
It wouldn't even reveal that a Black Widow movie was happening, despite the project having already been filming for several weeks prior to its official announcement. Needless to say, it can get a little intense.
Now, Sebastian Stan, the actor behind Bucky Barnes, revealed how he struggles when it comes to acting without all the information for some of his scenes, namely in Avengers: Endgame.
Sebastian Stan's MCU Endgame Problem
In a new interview with Josh Horowitz on The Happy Sad Confused podcast, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier actor Sebastian Stan talked about what it's like working on scenes without having all the information and context surrounding them.
When asked by Horowitz if he has ever done a scene without knowing what he was doing or having no context, Stan revealed that "[he] has to understand what [he's] doing," which made his time filming Avengers: Endgame particularly troublesome:
“No, I can’t. I have to understand what I’m doing, which is why the Avengers and Endgame was really, kind of tough when we were shooting it… because you know, a lot of us didn’t read the scripts. I think there were only a few people that had read them and I was like, ‘F—k, I can’t…’ I mean granted, it was the Russos and there were a lot of trusting people, but… usually I need to know what’s going on…”
Marvel Studios & Movie Secrecy
It's perfectly understandable how Sebastian Stan would find it difficult to perform without all the context as to why his character is doing what they are doing. He was also probably not alone in feeling this way; Marvel Studios' secrecy has no doubt rubbed even its talent the wrong way.
Knowing the information behind the character's actions is the key thing an actor needs to know. Imagine Paul Rudd needing to act through Endgame without knowing that Thanos blipped the universe or if Tom Holland wasn't allowed to know Tony Stark died while he grieved in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Ironically enough, despite all of this talk about Marvel's obsession with keeping information locked away, the company has actually been doing a fairly poor job recently. Spider-Man: No Way Home is practically known for the dozens of leaks that came from it; even Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has had plenty slip through the cracks.
The reason for these leaks is probably due to the sheer number of projects that are coming out from Marvel Studios. Having ten or more projects a year to keep up with is a lot for any entity, especially if counting the seemingly endless stream of ideas in development.
Whether Marvel Studios will be able to plug its many leaks is unclear, but hopefully, those who don't want to know anything are able to avoid the rising waters.
Avengers: Endgame now streaming on Disney+.
