By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Pop quiz: who do you think is most directly responsible for how your favorite movies look and feel? You might be tempted to say the director. However, directors rely on a small army of creatives to bring their vision to life. And the real unsung heroes among them are the editors who are often enough to make or break a movie. Don’t believe it? Consider this…under George Lucas’ direction, the first Star Wars film was a hot, unrecognizable mess that was saved in the editing room by one of Hollywood’s best editors: Marcia Lucas, George’s wife.
Long story short? If a movie has a bad editor, then it’s probably doomed. If it has a great editor, however, then it may just be destined for greatness. That’s why, as a Marvel fan, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that a familiar name was returning for the next big film: Matthew Schmidt. Name not ringing a bell? Don’t worry: he’s no relation to the Red Skull. But he has served as the editor for some of Marvel’s greatest movies, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Now, things have come full circle, and he’s editing both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
The OTHER Guy Who Can Do This All Day
The announcement of Matthew Schmidt’s return as Marvel editor came with very little fanfare. Rather, it popped up on the Independent Artist Group website. The IAG specializes in both brand management and talent management. They work with Schmidt, who has an active portfolio on their website. It features all of his extensive work with Marvel, including some real fan-favorites (more on that in a minute). At the very top of this impressive portfolio are two highly anticipated titles: Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Why is Schmidt returning to the tights-and-flights game such great news? The short answer is that he has helped create some of the best and most important movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He served as co-editor for The Avengers in 2012. Since then, he’s been co-editor for Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow, and Thor: Love and Thunder. While those last two movies are pretty weak, the fact that Schmidt has worked on every single Avengers movie and the best Captain America movies is enough reason to be hyped for his return.
Compared to those earlier movies, it sounds like Matthew Schmidt will have his work cut out for him. According to unconfirmed reports, Doomsday has, like the first Star Wars, become a tangled mess that will need to be saved in the editing room. When that news broke, I openly questioned whether Marvel Studios could pull their most ambitious film out of this creative quagmire. Now, the news that Schmidt is returning for one last ride has given me actual hope. Another reunion between Schmidt and the Russos, often cited as the best directors in the MCU? That’s enough to make us cry “fanboys, assemble!” when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18.
