To say that Epic Games' Fortnite is popular would be an understatement. Even though the game absolutely exploded in popularity back during its 2017 debut, effectively bringing the battle royale genre into the mainstream, it still remains nearly as popular today, even if its audience has shifted somewhat. Additionally, a myriad of crossovers and collaborations has helped Fortnite reach even more fans recently, with skins based on the Alien movies, the Street Fighter games, and even popular streamers.
Just yesterday, the game entered Chapter 2 Season 6, introducing players to an all-new Primal theme, where they must scavenge and hunt for materials in order to craft and upgrade their Makeshift and Primal weapons during battle. The new season was kicked off by Fortnite's Zero Crisis Finale event, which featured an impressive new animated cinematic. Now, it has been revealed that the Zero Crisis Story Cinematic was directed by none other than the Russo Brothers.
While Anthony and Joseph Russo may be best known for their work on Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, it turns out they are also big fans of Fortnite. The news comes by way of Variety, which received exclusive statements from the pair of directors, who said that the game has a "unique place in pop culture," and that Epic Games CCO Donald Mustard is a "visionary storyteller who continues to take us all into unexplored territory."
When thinking of how to best tell the next part of Fortnite's overarching story in an authentic and character-driven way, Mustard said, "we knew there was no one better to help us do that than the Russos." The CCO has called the Zero Crisis Story Cinematic a "defining moment" for what lies next in store for the battle royale game. The cinematic featured the continuation of Agent Jones' mission to stabilize the Zero Point, which is capable of destroying all existence. The character then receives help from The Foundation, a member of The Seven, a mysterious group of individuals that Fortnite fans will recognize from many past teasers.
The impressive cinematic features not only original Fortnite characters, but also characters from Season 5's many crossovers, like God of War's Kratos, Sarah Connor from the Terminator series, and more. This isn't the first time Epic Games has collaborated with the Russo Brothers, as they worked together to bring players a limited-time Avengers: Infinity War-themed mode where fans could play as Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet.
Fortnite's Chapter 2 Season 6 Battle Pass is available now, featuring even more crossover cameos from Tomb Raider's Lara Croft as well as Teen Titans' Raven. With Fortnite entering a new era, it will certainly be interesting to see what else Donald Mustard and Epic Games have in store for the game in the future.
Fortnite is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Variety