Avengers Infinity War directors SPEAK OUT on THAT surprise returning character

WARNING SPOILER FOR AVENGERS INFINITY WAR AHEAD

The return of the Red Skull was one of the biggest shocks in the whole movie.

Back in 2011 Hugo Weaving played the Marvel villain in Captain America: The First Avenger.

However the Hydra head seemed to have met his end when the Tesseract – the Space Stone – appeared to destroy him.

But with his return in Avengers Infinity War, as teased in the official comic prelude – it’s now confirmed it transported him to the planet Vormir.

Over 70 years later and the Red Skull is now the keeper of the Soul Stone, as met by Thanos and Gamora.

Now directors the Russo brothers have revealed why the Marvel villain returned seven years after his only appearance in the MCU.

Joe Russo said: “Somebody had to be the gatekeeper to the Soul Stone and somebody had to distribute the rules to Thanos and Gamora…who felt credible to the audience.”

He continued: “And a character who has been trapped – the Red Skull has been turned into this wraith who now guards the Soul Stone and distributes the rules to whoever shows up their trying to obtain it.

“It felt like there was more credibility than just a random character.

Anthony Russo added: “Somebody who has a history with the stones may seem like they have a little more authority in terms of their experience – especially a tragic experience.”

And it turns out it wasn’t Hugo Weaving who returned as the Red Skull but Walking Dead actor Ross Marquand.

Joe said: “Well, Ross Marquand did an incredible job of capturing not only the essence of his voice, but the essence of the performance – a haunted figure who is now this imprisoned spirit.

Anthony added: “And it’s a specific style of acting. Like, Josh Brolin couldn’t have been more thrilled by the opportunity of working in this very strange way.

“He remarked to Joe and me that he felt like he was in acting school again because this was all experimental and new.

“And some people are comfortable with that and some people aren’t.”