'Captain America: Civil War' sets the table for 'Avengers: Infinity War,' says director Anthony Russo

Captain America: Civil War "sets the table" for Avengers: Infinity War, director Anthony Russo told Shakefire at the Atlanta premiere of the film.

Civil War kicks off  Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will culminate in an all out battle with Infinity War - Part 1 in 2018. We spoke to Russo on the red carpet and asked him about how working on Civil War has prepared him for the daunting task of Infinity War. 

"It very much was sort of a test run in a way for Infinity War, says Russo. "But this story, my brother and I have always thought about a continuity of narrative from The Winter Soldier thru Civil War right into Infinity War. So Civil War very much sets the table for where we’re going to pick up the story in Infinity War. So in that sense this movie gives us a leg up in terms of where we’re going in that movie, but it certainly will be challenging with the size of the cast."

At one point, 67 characters were being considered for inclusion in Infinity War, although Russo admits that they are still in the process of sorting out who exactly will be featured in the two part film. "We literally just got the very first script draft from the writers [Christopher] Markus and [Stephen] McFeely two days ago," he explains. "That’s the stage we’re at."

Filming for Infinity War is expected to begin in November 2016 at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, GA. Part 1 is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2018, and Part 2 is scheduled to be released on May 3, 2019.