With a little more than a week to go to the biggest superhero flick ever made, the cast and crew members (well, not all of ‘em) of Avengers: Infinity War dropped by Marina Bay Sands yesterday for a star-studded time.
We got lucky, because Robert Downey Jr., the man who kickstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the behemoth it is now, personally graced our shores. Along with fellow Infinity War stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange, Sherlock), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Who), and director Joe Russo and Marvel Studios producer Trinh Tran in tow.
Seems like everything went well, judging from the entertaining press conference yesterday. But what’s as interesting is their extra-curricular activities in Singapore — here are some of the top highlights from their travels around town.
“Facial Hair Bros”
Aside from having played separate variations of Sherlock Holmes on screen, Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch share another similar trait — both their superhero characters sport iconic goatees. Somebody even brought up “Facial Hair Bros”, a hilarious reference to The Invincible Iron Man issue #3 and issue #5, when both their characters teamed up in the comics.
Alas, the reference was lost on the actors, but one can always hope that there’s a sliver of a “Facial Hair Bros” easter egg in the movie.
Robert Downey Jr. recruits new Avengers
Utterly charming and smooth AF, Robert Downey Jr. might as well be the real-life Tony Stark. Though the man didn’t create a high-tech powered suit, he’s a hero nonetheless to the 37 critically-ill children who were sworn in as “honorary Avengers” yesterday as part of a Make-A-Wish Foundation outreach in Singapore.
Benedict Cumberbatch loves culture
In case you weren’t aware, the ArtScience Museum will be hosting an exhibition called Marvel Studios: Ten Years of Heroes — and it’s pretty much what you think it is. Though the exhibition is quite months away, Doctor Stephen Strange himself graced the museum on Saturday to check out current exhibitions, and you can bet people spotted him wandering around the premises.
Delighted to welcome Benedict Cumberbatch to @ArtSciMuseum today, for a tour of our exhibitions.
We will be featuring his films, #DrStrange and #InfinityWar in our next exhibition #MarvelStudios: Ten Years of Heroes.#artsciencemuseum #benedictcumberbatch #tenyearsofheroes pic.twitter.com/Dh8BpGNlcY
— honor harger (@honorharger) April 14, 2018
WOW OK BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH WAS IN THE MUSEUM TODAY?!?!? This is this closest I got to sneaking a photo of his bodyguards lol
(he’s behind the wall) pic.twitter.com/MrnBa4wMeu— damz (@petitbiscotti) April 14, 2018
One day before that, the 41-year-old English actor immersed himself in local culture by dropping by the Malay Heritage Centre to check out Pasar Ugi, a marketplace celebrating Bugis culture as part of the Singapore Heritage Festival. Malay Heritage Centre programmes manager Jamal Mohamad didn’t miss the opportunity for a selfie.
Karen Gillan is a total pool shark
The 30-year-old British actress may be playing the cold-hearted (adopted) daughter of Avengers big bad Thanos, but in real life, she proved to be a total killer at pool. Okay, not really, but she’s totally amazing in this clip, post-press conference.
Infinity War shut down Hollywood for a year: Joe Russo
Joe Russo, one-half of directing duo the Russo brothers, had plenty to offer during the press conference, reiterating the complicated process of filming the biggest superhero mashup in move history.
“Logistically, without question, I think, the most complicated movie in history to put together,” he said. “I think we shut down Hollywood for a year because we had every actor working in the business scheduled somewhere in the movie.”
Of course, he answered the question everyone wanted to know: Where the heck is Hawkeye?
“Look, we did not forget the twice-Oscar-nominated Jeremy Renner from Infinity War! There are only so many people you can put in one film, and we have a really interesting story clipped out for Hawkeye. All I can say is that patience is a virtue – and it’s a long play, not a short play.”
Those who paid attention would know that there are leaked photos from the set of Avengers 4 that show Renner in a black-and-gold outfit, suggesting that his character is returning as Ronin, the name Hawkeye takes on after the events of Civil War in the comics.
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