From slick, frictionless action to goofy moments of character banter, the cinematic opening for Fortnite's latest season has big Marvel energy. There's good reason for that, mind. Turns out, Avengers directors Anthony and Joe Russo had a hand in co-directing the short.
As reported by Variety, the Russo Brothers (who helmed Infinity War and Endgame) were brought in to help produce not only the Jonesy intro, but many other character development moments that will drop in during Season 6.
"It’s been fantastic working with the team at Epic," the brothers said in a statement to Variety. "Fortnite holds a unique place in pop culture, and we think [Epic chief creative officer] Donald Mustard is a visionary storyteller who continues to take us all into unexplored territory."
The directors have worked with Epic before, reaching out to lay the groundwork for 2018's Infinity War crossover with Fortnite. This Season's cinematic echoes that film in its own way, bringing together a bunch of the stranger licensed cameos for one last brawl. The Predator murders a cat off-screen. Ryu Street Fighter turns Peely into goop. It's a whole thing.
But it's also that Marvel approach to storytelling that left Joseph Knoop feeling that Fortnite's story is still going nowhere. It might be the best way to frame a narrative around an infinitely-recurring murder royale, but by always setting up the "Next Big Thing", he reckons it's hard to get invested in the unfolding story itself.
"Hearing the Foundation warn Jonesy that we'll all need to keep fighting to escape the battle royale loop, and that he'll be back to collect on Jonesy's promise, feels a bit deflating. There are no stakes in a story that keeps moving the goalposts."
Fortnite Season 6 is out now, and we've got the lowdown on every new location in the game's Primal map rework.
