We Finally Have an Answer for Why Sean Connery Was in That America: Endgame Video

In the middle of all our election stress, as we all were worried about what was about to happen to America, this video, set to the final battle against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, showed up on the timeline, and everyone collectively lost it—some in a good way, some in a “what the hell is happening” way. I found myself in the WTF category, not because I didn’t like it but because I just wanted to understand what was going through someone’s head as they made some of the choices in it.

Luckily, my prayers have been answered. In an interview with Vulture, creator John Handem Piette talks about bringing the video to life and why this was a cathartic moment. He also makes a good point about viral videos. We’re so tuned in to trying to make content that goes wild across the internet that sometimes, we set our goals too high, and Piette points out in the interview that it’s about timing, but it’s also not something we should make a business model out of because you never really know what will go viral or why—like his America: Endgame video.

First, here is the video in question:

America Assembled!🇺🇸🎉@JoeBiden @KamalaHarris @BarackObama @ChrisEvans @MarkRuffalo @RobertDowneyJr @brielarson @AOC @staceyabrams @michaelb4jordan @Russo_Brothers #Election2020 #ElectionResults2020 #joebiden #DonaldTrump #BidenHarris2020 #avengers #endgame pic.twitter.com/cDl1VsFbOo

— John Handem Piette (@JohnHPiette) November 6, 2020

The video did come from an earnest place, and honestly, as a Marvel nerd myself, I get that. Granted, I fully admit to laughing hysterically at the addition of Sean Connery (who is brought into the fold as Rocket Raccoon and carried by a John Lewis Ant-Man).

“And the idea was earnest. Because it was happiness. It was just a raw happiness. I hate to admit it, but I think I was in a state of mild depression for four years about the state of the country, and I feel like I was sort of awakening from that. It is tongue in cheek, to an extent; I think it’s important not to take ourselves so seriously. But the main thing I was feeling was unity. Unity, unity, unity. It’s been such a bitter period in our politics, so I did kinda wanna be like, “Look, we won and we’re happy and this is a beautiful moment for America. But at the same time, let’s laugh, let’s heal, and let’s not take ourselves so seriously that we can’t listen to each other or think that we’re 100 percent right all the time.” So I think it was a mixture of both. But it was definitely earnest.”

But finally, we have an answer as to why Sean Connery was in the video in the first place:

“Rocket Raccoon, that character, he was the only one I couldn’t figure out who I wanted to put there. And I’d left that to last. I did all the animation and thought I’d do that later. So by that time, I had to figure out who the hell Rocket Raccoon was gonna be. And I was delirious. But I am a big Sean Connery fan. I’m a big Bond fan. And I thought, Okay, he just passed away. Because those were the deceased kinda coming out of the grave, so to speak, I thought, He’s recently deceased. How funny would it be if the great RBG tamed him and he’s her pet, like on her shoulder? And he’s holding that gun kinda like his PT-7 in the same pose he does as Bond. So it kinda clicked: It’s gotta be Sean Connery, I’m sorry. And I know there’s a story about Donald Trump saying he was buddies with Sean Connery, but I think that’s a lot of hogwash.”

And, honestly, maybe my favorite part of this interview is when Piette says that Thanos is more enlightened than Trump.

“But if I’m being honest, I think probably the biggest misrepresentation in the video is Trump being Thanos. I mean, they both have narcissism; they have the incessant need for power; they want a loyal following. But I think that’s where the comparison ends. I think Thanos is a much more enlightened, thoughtful individual than Trump.”

What this video did IS unite us—well, sort of. Whether you loved it or loved to sit and just laugh, it did a good job of giving us a brief moment of stress relief, and I truly did think about Sean Connery as Rocket Raccoon for a good long while. So … thanks for that, John H. Piette.

(via Vulture, image: John Handem Piette)

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