With the snap of his fingers, Avengers: Infinity War villain Thanos dramatically altered the Marvel Cinematic Universe, leaving the future of many popular characters in doubt and bringing the 2018 film to a close on one of the greatest cliffhangers of all time. In doing so, he also made Avengers: Endgame one of the most anticipated movies to date in the MCU.
The latest updates on the film offer some new clips from Endgame, as well some very positive reviews from people who have already seen the movie.
Here’s everything we know about Avengers: Endgame so far.
(Note: Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War will be discussed below.)
- Title: Avengers: Endgame
- Release date: April 26, 2019
- Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Karen Gillan, Mark Ruffalo
- Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
First reactions
Avengers: Endgame‘s Hollywood premiere took place on April 22 and the early reactions from members of the audience were overwhelmingly positive. Fandango editor Erik Davis called Endgame a “a true culmination of 22 films that not only concludes the story, but expands upon it.” Slashfilm’s Peter Sciretta claimed that the Endgame “surpasses all expectations.”
If the early reactions are any indication, you’ll want to bring some tissues with you to the theater, too. The New York Times’ Dave Itzkoff says that Endgame moved him from “utter despair to pure elation,” and that he both laughed and cried. He wasn’t the only one shedding tears. Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub had “a lot of feels” when the movie ended. Even Captain America himself, Chris Evans, admits that he “cried like six times.”
Trailers, ads, clips, and more
With Disney’s hype machine operating at full capacity, the Avengers: Endgame clips are coming in fast and furious.
Marvel revealed some new footage from Avengers: Endgame in a television ad that debuted a week before the film hits theaters. Titled “Found,” the ad includes some fresh footage of Iron Man, Black Widow, and other members of the surviving Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy teams preparing for a second battle with Thanos — one that they hope will end with them bringing their departed allies back.
IMAX earlier released a behind-the-scenes video featuring the Russo brothers discussing some of the filmmaking techniques that went into bringing Endgame to the screen.
Marvel Studios previously released an extended promotional video for the film that runs through many of the characters’ arcs — dating back to the earliest installments of the MCU — which brought them to both Infinity War and, eventually, Endgame.
“Before we’re done, we still have one promise to keep.”
Marvel Studios’ #AvengersEndgame is in theaters in 10 days. Get your tickets now: https://t.co/h90aWvima5 pic.twitter.com/qjRis8XcMc
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) April 16, 2019
Just a few days earlier, another teaser was released on Marvel Entertainment’s YouTube channel, featuring a couple of pieces of new footage, a better look at the Avengers’ matching white outfits, and a rousing speech from Captain America.
“He’s pretty good at that,” Rocket Raccoon observes, once Cap is done. Yes, Rocket. He really is.
Ticket sales
As soon as tickets went on sale, it became clear that Avengers: Endgame was shaping up to be one of the biggest — if not the biggest — superhero movie of all time. More than two weeks before Avengers: Endgame hit theaters, the movie had already sold twice as many tickets on Atom Tickets as Aquaman, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Avengers: Infinity War and Captain Marvel combined.
That seems to be a trend. When advance tickets for Avengers: Endgame went on sale April 2, the film quickly set a new record for first-day ticket sales. In just the first six hours after tickets became available, Endgame surpassed the first-day ticket sales for previous record-holder Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.
Fandango made the new record official via Twitter.
#AvengersEndgame gave The Force Awakens the *snap* as the top-selling pre-sale title in the first 24 hours.
(notice the perfect balance of the top 5?) pic.twitter.com/BwYAOQekf3
— Fandango (@Fandango) April 2, 2019
The initial rush to reserve seats for the film caused a bit of trouble for some online ticket-selling sites, which received far more traffic than they seemingly anticipated. Online queues for some sites ran upward of several hours to buy tickets for screenings during the film’s opening weekend, while some sites crashed entirely under the sudden flood of hopeful Endgame fans.
“It’s not about how much we lost, it’s about how much we have left.”
Tickets are now available for Marvel Studios’ #AvengersEndgame, in theaters April 26: https://t.co/h90aWvzX1D pic.twitter.com/4Dz22hRWvQ
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) April 2, 2019
Tickets are currently available to purchase via Fandango or Atom, but screenings during the film’s first four days in theaters are selling out fast (if they’re not sold out already) in many markets around the U.S.
The first clip
After debuting a full scene from Avengers: Endgame during April’s CinemaCon event, Marvel Studios released a substantial clip from that scene during an episode of Good Morning America.
The scene — which was captured by ComicBook.com — features Captain Marvel and the Avengers debating the best strategy for reversing Thanos’ cataclysmic actions in Infinity War.
The first trailers
Marvel commemorated the launch of ticket sales for Avengers: Endgame by releasing a new trailer for the film on April 2.
The first, full-length trailer for Avengers: Endgame (see above) premiered online on March 14, a little more than a month before the film’s debut.
Along with delivering a somber reflection on how some of the individual heroes got to this dark point in their lives and who found themselves disappearing in a cloud of dust when Thanos snapped his fingers, the trailer also saved one of its best moments for the very end: A scene featuring an early encounter between Thor and Captain Marvel.
A month earlier, one of the biggest sports events of the year played host to a preview of what’s likely to be one of the biggest movies of the year when a new Avengers: Endgame trailer (see below) premiered February 3 during Super Bowl LIII.
The Avengers: Endgame trailer aired just after kickoff of the NFL’s championship game, and offered a peek at what some of the survivors from Thanos’ invasion have been up to in the aftermath of the snap heard ’round the universe.
Marvel Studios earlier released the very first teaser trailer for Avengers: Endgame on December 7, 2018. Not only did the trailer provide the first footage from the film, but it also revealed the film’s official title and its new release date. Instead of premiering in May 2019, Endgame will arrive in theaters a week earlier than originally scheduled, on April 26, 2019.
The trailer also confirmed a few MCU characters rumored to be returning for Endgame who were absent from Infinity War, including Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).
The posters
The month of March was filled with new posters for Avengers: Endgame, beginning with a series of 32 solo character images featuring the tagline “Avenge the Fallen.” The posters debuted on Twitter and featured each of the characters in color or black and white, depending on their status at the end of Infinity War, with the seemingly deceased heroes presented in the muted black-and-white palette.
1 Month. #AvengersEndgame pic.twitter.com/XE5Omxp7Jh
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 26, 2019
1 Month. #AvengersEndgame pic.twitter.com/rJf2fdxhNP
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 26, 2019
1 Month. #AvengersEndgame pic.twitter.com/vTPq8kdK2D
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 26, 2019
While the series of individual character posters were certainly eye-catching, it also revealed a few things fans have been wondering about since Thanos snapped his fingers — namely, the status of Black Panther character Shuri and Thor: Ragnarok character Valkyrie. The survival (or death) of the two popular characters wasn’t confirmed in Infinity War, but the posters seem to indicate that Shuri did indeed disappear in a cloud of dust, while Valkyrie appears to have survived Thanos’ attack on the ship carrying the Asgardians in the film’s early moments.
Marvel followed the series of character shots with a group poster featuring many of the franchise’s primary characters — both alive and dead.
Check out the brand-new international posters for Marvel Studios' #AvengersEndgame! pic.twitter.com/5aQ3FYxoXj
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 29, 2019
The running time
You might want to visit the bathroom immediately before Avengers: Endgame and take your time with that big cup of soda during the film. After Avengers: Infinity War clocked in at an unusually long two hours and 4o minutes, Avengers: Endgame will extend past the three-hour mark.
The film’s running time was confirmed by Fandango on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Fandango/status/1110225872445820928
“Right now, we think the movie is playing well and we’ve had great responses from our test audiences and we’re feeling very good about where it is,” Joe Russo told Collider in a February interview. “We’re still doing work to it. We’re not done with it. Again, this is a culmination film of 22 movies, it’s a lot of storytelling to work into it. Emotion is an intrinsic part of that to us. When you have to tell a really complicated story and you want strong emotional moments with the characters, it just requires a certain amount of real estate. This one, in particular, feels like three hours worth of real estate.”
The bigger picture
If you want to get the full Avengers: Endgame experience, go big. Really big. Avengers: Endgame is the second Hollywood film shot completely with IMAX cameras in an IMAX-specific aspect ratio — the first, of course, was Endgame‘s predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War — and if you see the film in a regular theater, you’re missing out on over a quarter of the action.
To prove this point, IMAX released a comparison video pitting Avengers: Endgame‘s standard trailer against its IMAX equivalent. The results are striking. The IMAX version of the Endgame trailer has 26 perfect more picture than its alternative, mostly at the top and the bottom of the screen.
None of the important stuff is cut out, and non-IMAX viewers will be able to follow Endgame‘s plot just fine, but the bigger screen space gives Endgame‘s characters and scenery room to breathe. It’s subtle, but it makes a difference. If you’re a completionist, there is no doubt that IMAX is going to be the best way to watch Avengers: Endgame — unless you’re holding out for the home video version and happen to have a million dollars lying around, of course.
The movie’s title
Marvel kept the title of the Infinity War sequel a secret for a surprisingly long amount of time, likely due to the potential for spoiling the events of its predecessor. In fact, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that rationale in an interview prior to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, indicating that the title for the film had been decided, and “yes, for sure,” it’s a spoiler for Infinity War.
The title was finally confirmed in December 2018 via the official teaser trailer for the film, which revealed the Avengers: Endgame logo for the first time.
Potential casualties?
It’s long been rumored that some of the original Avengers heroes could meet their end in Avengers: Endgame, but the final moments of Infinity War created some uncertainty as to which characters will find their way back — and if so, for how long — in the sequel.
In an October 4 update on Twitter, franchise veteran Chris Evans offered up some thoughts on his final day of filming on Endgame that seemed to be, well … fairly final.
https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1047896966410190849
“Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least,” wrote Evans, who made his debut as Marvel’s star-spangled superhero in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. “Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.”
However, in a November interview with The Associated Press, co-director Joe Russo indicated that Endgame might not be Evans’ final bow as Captain America.
“I think [the end of production on Avengers 4] was more emotional for him than us, only because, you know, he’s not done yet,” said Russo. “And I won’t explain what that means, but the audience will soon understand what I’m talking about.”
Filming
Filming on Avengers: Endgame occurred back-to-back with Avengers: Infinity War, and cameras officially began rolling on the film August 10, 2017. Production initially wrapped on January 11, 2018, but reshoots commenced in September. The reshoots officially concluded October 12, with the Russo brothers posting a photo on Twitter to commemorate the end of filming.
https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1050957806248054785
Who will be in it
The list of characters expected to appear in Endgame ranges widely, with Marvel keeping the identity of who’s gone, who’s back, who really lived, and who definitely died a closely guarded secret. Josh Brolin’s cosmic villain Thanos is certain to return, but the cast list on the film’s IMDb page currently includes almost every hero character who’s played a featured or supporting role in one of the Marvel movies to date, as well as some villains, too.
One character we know for sure will appear is Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, who appeared in a series of photos taken on the set of Endgame in January 2018.
See the first photos of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel https://t.co/M5PysAdUR7 pic.twitter.com/4FWoU8lTMX
— Page Six (@PageSix) January 25, 2018
After being conspicuously absent from Infinity War, Jeremy Renner’s sharpshooter hero Hawkeye is expected to return in Endgame, and the actor confirmed he’ll be back in some photos posted to Instagram in early September. Whether he’ll be appearing as Hawkeye or as a very different, masked alter ego — as some rumors have suggested — remains to be seen.
Also glimpsed on the set of the film was Paul Rudd, whose size-changing superhero Ant-Man was — like Hawkeye — absent from the events of Infinity War.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnlfx4tjvN6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_camera
Some leaked promotional art for the film also seems to offer an indication of who will be in the fight against Thanos when Endgame hits theaters. The art that found its way online is reportedly official promo art for the film, and features an ensemble of characters who — from the initial look of it — are all among those that weren’t erased by Thanos in the film.
More Incoming.. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 #Avengers4 pic.twitter.com/N46yFFNWGv
— Aj Designs (@ajdesigns0220) June 29, 2018
What’s going to happen
Given that half of Marvel’s cinematic universe was erased at the end of Infinity War, and that many of the characters who “disappeared” are still scheduled to appear in upcoming films (i.e., Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Guardians of the Galaxy), the plot of Avengers: Endgame will likely focus on bringing those characters back in one way or another.
Actress Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula in the MCU, has also hinted that a showdown between herself and Thanos is on the way, posting an image in September showing the alarms she set for her Avengers: Endgame filming schedule. “Nebula has some unfinished business with Daddio,” she captioned the photo.
Another theory regarding the plot of Endgame involves the possibility of time travel, with one or more characters going back in time to undo some of the changes Thanos made in the timeline.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnljOp8AbnG/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_camera
Leaked photos from the set of the film showing a clean-shaven Chris Evans as Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) and a red-haired Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow have been submitted as proof of this particular theory.
Another potential plot point involves some reconciliation between Mark Ruffalo’s scientist character Bruce Banner and his green-skinned alter ego, Hulk. Ruffalo has indicated that he hopes to see Banner and Hulk battle for control at some point and finally reach a compromise, so this could play into the story arc in the Infinity War sequel, given Hulk’s reluctance to get involved in Thanos’ initial invasion of Wakanda in the first film.
Updated on April 23, 2019: Added first reactions from the Endgame premiere.
