The trailer for Avengers 4, officially titled Avengers: Endgame has finally arrived and we have some things to discuss. First, that title. After much overdone secrecy, it is revealed to be “Endgame”, a reference to Doctor Strange’s line in Infinity War. It’s fine. It hardly justifies the amount of cloak-and-dagger around its reveal because it is a f-cking TITLE. A title is never going to justify that kind of skullduggery. Just tell us what the movie is called, there is zero point to mystery boxing a TITLE.
Next, I can feel Lainey vibrating about the current state of Pepperony. Tony Stark is stuck in a spaceship, adrift, running out of food, water, and air. Nebula, who is technically a cyborg, might be able to survive, but Tony won’t. So he’s recording his final message to Pepper. Do we know if Pepper survived the snap? (Within the Marvel movies the event is the “blip-out” or the “decimation”, both of which are stupid and I will not recognize them.) I know that all Lainey cares about is finding out if Tony and Pepper will make it.
Also, and most importantly, WHAT THE F-CK HAPPENED TO SHURI? In one scene in Avengers HQ, they’re looking at photos of those presumed snapped out, including Peter Parker, Scott Lang, and SHURI. WHERE IS SHURI. IS SHE OKAY. We know Scott Lang isn’t really gone—he turns up at the end of the trailer to confirm it—so maybe this is some kind of horrible mistake. SHURI BETTER BE FINE.
And then there is the stuff only comic book nerds care about, like Clint Barton returning with a new look and new weapon. Going by his ninja makeover, Hawkeye is no more and Clint is now Ronin. That cut comes as Steve Rogers narrates, “We lost family”, so I’m assuming Clint’s farm family is snapped out and that’s why the new haircut and katana. Also, Cap is back in the stealth suit! Still the best uniform he’s ever had is the navy number from Winter Soldier, and his new Endgame suit looks like an update on that. I miss the beard—why did he shave? Why doesn’t he look like a crazy hermit with six-inch fingernails in the midst of his grief—but I like the new duds.
And then there is the stuff that is missing, which is mostly Captain Marvel. We haven’t even seen her movie yet, and I assume we won’t see her in a trailer for Endgame until we do—if we she gets a trailer spot at all—but you KNOW she’s out there. We’ve all seen her now. And Tony is drifting through space? No way home? Hmm, who could possibly help him?
Speaking of Captain Marvel, her movie comes out on March 8. And Endgame’s release date has just been moved up to April 26, 2019, which will be a worldwide day-and-date release. That means the two movies come out seven weeks apart. Not even two months. Black Panther was still in the top 10 when Infinity War came out, but at least there were two whole months—and change—separating the releases. I really don’t love that timing and wish Captain Marvel got a little more breathing room for herself. But it is what it is. And it will be a very exciting spring for the Avengers.
