Avengers: Endgame

**Avengers: Endgame** is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the twenty-second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the tenth film in Phase Three. It is the sequel to 2012's The Avengers, 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, and 2018's Avengers: Infinity War. It was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

## Plot

Clint Barton, still under house arrest due to his involvement in the Clash of the Avengers two years prior and violation of the Sokovia Accords, trains his daughter Lila in archery at his homestead. She scores a bullseye and he congratulates her on her efforts. Nearby, Laura prepares a picnic while their two sons, Nathaniel and Cooper, play catch. Clint turns his attention away from his daughter for a moment to respond to his wife, but when he looks right back to Lila, she is gone. Surprised and visibly startled, he calls out to his other family members, but they too have vanished; as victims of the Snap.

Three weeks later, Tony Stark and Nebula are adrift in space aboard the Benatar. Nearly out of supplies, Stark uses the helmet from the Iron Man Armor: Mark L to chronicle their possible final days with the hope that the helmet will be recovered by Pepper Potts before falling asleep. Nebula, having developed an unlikely friendship with Stark during their journey, places him in the pilot's seat and retreats to the corridors of the ship. Tony's sleep is disturbed by the arrival of Captain Marvel, who carries the ship back to the New Avengers Facility on Earth. Stark is reunited with Potts and the surviving Avengers; Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, James Rhodes, and Bruce Banner. Stark sadly tells Rogers that he lost Peter Parker upon seeing him. Rocket Raccoon sees Nebula alone and realizes that all his friends are also gone. The two sit together and hold hands in silent grief.

Now inside the facility, Rogers asks Stark if he has any clues as to where Thanos is. Tony then erupts into a furious tirade stemming from unresolved issues between them concerning Ultron and their civil war. He continues to rant that if they had stood together, they may have been able to defeat Thanos, and questions the Avengers' reputation of doing their best work after the worst has already come to pass. After this outburst, he faints, exhausted and emaciated from his trip through space. Stark is given a sedative that will put him out for a while, giving him time to heal.

Returning to the topic of finding Thanos, Danvers proposes that they go after him right away. However, the rest of the team is not so easily convinced of the idea. Rogers tells her they don't even know where he is, but Danvers says she knows some people who might. Nebula says there is no need because she knows where Thanos is, referencing The Garden that Thanos had planned to retreat to after achieving his goal of the Snap. Based on her information, Rocket pulls up a 3-D diagram of its location and states that when Thanos used the stones on Earth, it let out a large burst of energy. The same signature appeared two days ago on a different planet.

With this new information, the team of Avengers set out to confront Thanos and retrieve the Infinity Stones in hopes of bringing half the universe's population back, leaving Stark behind. They all get aboard the Benatar and plot a course through the Universal Neural Teleportation Network to the Garden. Successfully tracking the signal to Thanos' farm in the Garden, Danvers first heads onto the planet to do recon, only to find that the planet is undefended and Thanos is alone and unguarded; with no armada, ships, or guards.

In his simple hut, Thanos goes about his daily routine; however, he is visibly crippled with horrific burns on the left side of his body from extreme use of the Stones. Danvers suddenly bursts into the hut, surprising Thanos and pinning him down with assistance from Rhodes and Banner, after which Thor severs Thanos' left arm and Gauntlet completely with Stormbreaker. To the Avengers' surprise and dismay, the gauntlet does not contain any of the Stones.

Upon interrogation, Thanos explains that the Stones would have offered "nothing but a temptation" if he kept them. After completing his goal, he deemed the Stones had served their purpose and thus he used their energies to reduce them to atoms so that what he did could never be reversed. The Avengers accuse him of lying, to which Nebula responds that while her father was many things, he was never a liar. A surprised Thanos thanks his adoptive daughter for believing him and expresses regret for torturing her but a furious Thor decapitates Thanos before he can finish, leaving Nebula to mourn her adoptive father at his side. When Rocket asks what he has done, Thor replies that this time, he "went for the head," referencing Thanos's scornful remark on his failure to kill him in the Infinity War which ultimately led to the Snap. The disheartened Avengers then depart the Garden, having realized that there is nothing they can do to bring back the disintegrated.

Five years later, Earth's remaining population has attempted to persevere against catastrophic losses. The massive genocide has traumatized the world and has stagnated much of their progress. Rogers now participates in and/or runs a support group for citizens of New York City who are trying to cope with surviving the Snap and their losses. Tony is revealed to be living in a simple cabin with Pepper and their young daughter Morgan, now feeling a sense of peace despite the fallout of the Snap and the weight of being unable to prevent it five years earlier.

In a U-STORE-It Self-Storage facility in San Francisco, a rat accidentally activates the Quantum Tunnel in Luis' Van, which had been impounded after the Snap, finally pulling Scott Lang out of the Quantum Realm. Disoriented and confused, Lang (who believes he was only gone for five hours) wanders through a post-Snap San Francisco. Deducing that something terrible must have happened, he comes across the Wall of the Vanished, a memorial site listing the names of those lost in the Snap. He frantically scans the names, hoping that he doesn't find his daughter's. Relief gives way to bewilderment as he doesn't find her name, but instead his own. Arriving at Cassie's home, he is shocked when he is greeted by his daughter, now a teenager, and the two reunite in a tearful, joyful reunion and hug. After realizing that Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne were among the vanished, Lang travels to the New Avengers Facility in New York with Luis' Van.

At the New Avengers Facility, Romanoff, now the leader of the Avengers, is concluding a meeting with Nebula, Okoye, Danvers, Rocket, and Rhodes, regarding the continued repercussions of the Snap throughout the universe. Following the dismissal, Rhodes remains behind to give a status update regarding his former teammate and her friend, Clint Barton, who has become a vigilante known as Ronin following the disintegration of his family. Rhodes suspects Barton is responsible for the deaths of multiple Mexican Cartel members, which upsets Romanoff. Despite his apprehension, Romanoff pleads with Rhodes to continue tracking Barton. Rogers enters the room and the two console each other, admitting that while they've now devoted their lives to helping others move on from what happened, neither of them ever can. The gloomy mood is interrupted when Lang arrives at the compound. While initially sceptical, the two realise that Lang indeed survived the Snap and welcome him into the facility. Upon arrival, he is greeted by Romanoff and Rogers, his idol, and the three begin discussing the means of his survival where Lang explains his own experience in the Quantum Realm and how they might use it to undo the events of the Snap. The trio, with limited knowledge about the Quantum Realm and time travel, seek out Stark.

At his lakeside home, Stark is enjoying quality time with his daughter when Rogers, Romanoff, and Lang arrive. Stark immediately understands the nature of their visit but still questions their inquiry. When Lang proposes the idea of a Time Heist, Stark quickly criticizes the idea, fearing that altering the past could erase their very existence as it stands, and expressing concern for the endangered existence of his daughter should their plan fail. Stark explains his desire to put the past behind him and tells them he's finished with the Avengers. Not wanting to give up, Rogers, Romanoff, and Lang leave and meet with Bruce Banner at a diner. After the Snap, and both Hulk's and Banner's defeat at the hands of Thanos, Banner restarted his research into Gamma Radiation and used it to morph his body to have the appearance and strength of the Hulk while retaining the intelligence and control of Banner; the development worked wonders for the Hulk's image as an Avenger as people no longer came to fear him. After being told of the remaining Avengers' plans to retrieve the Stones from the past, Banner claims that quantum physics is "outside of [his] expertise" but ultimately agrees to help them try.

While Tony is washing dishes he accidentally gets a picture of his dad wet, and then comes across a picture of himself and Peter Parker. Being reminded of how he lost him in the Snap five years before, he uses F.R.I.D.A.Y. to simulate models for time travel in the Quantum Realm. Despite expecting and hoping not to fail, he succeeds just before giving up, much to his shock, by using an inverted Möbius strip model. After having done so, he discusses with Pepper the morality of time travel and about what he should do with his latest discovery: whether he should lock it up in a box and throw it into the bottom of a lake or whether he should take it to the remaining Avengers. He feels that he and Pepper were lucky that they were both spared and now have made an amazing life together, but he can't deny that everyone around them has suffered unimaginable horrors and should be helped. Pepper asks Tony if he could live with his conscience if he kept the secret to himself, and this convinces him to return to the Avengers.

At the New Avengers Facility, Banner, Rogers, and Romanoff run an experiment with time travel by trying to send Lang back in time. Instead of sending him through time, they send time through him: he turns into a child, an old man, and finally a baby before they manage to restore him to normal. Rogers leaves the room, contemplating outside of the building about what to do next. Stark arrives to extend his helping hand and asks if the whole team is getting back together. Rogers told him they're still working on gathering everyone who's available. Tony tells Rogers that he's agreeing to help on the condition that trying to reverse what Thanos did won't reset what has happened since, as he doesn't want to lose his daughter. Rogers agrees that's how it should be. The two men finally put aside their differences, and Stark returns Rogers' shield.

Nebula and Rocket arrive in the Benatar and Rhodes flies in with his suit. Scott, eating outside, sees his taco destroyed in the wind from the Benatar's landing. Banner and Rocket travel to New Asgard in Tønsberg, Norway which is now home to the few Asgardians who are left, but not before Banner offers Scott a new taco. They meet Valkyrie, who now works on the fishing docks, and she reveals Thor is not doing well. He is revealed to be depressed following his failures; gained considerable weight, became an alcoholic, and spends much of his time playing Fortnite with Korg and Miek. Although Thor tries to put on a carefree attitude, he nearly breaks down upon Thanos' name being mentioned by Banner. When it seems as if an appeal to emotion will not work on Thor, Banner and Rocket convince Thor to come with them by promising him a beer.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Barton attacks a group of Japanese Yakuza members and dispatches them one by one, including their boss, Akihiko. Romanoff, watching the scene, approaches Barton in an attempt to bring him back to the Avengers. At first, Barton wants nothing to do with the plan, tearfully begging Romanoff to not give him any hope that his family could return. But after some convincing by Romanoff, Barton returns to the Avengers' headquarters with her.

At the Avengers Facility, Banner and Stark have completed the construction of their own Quantum Tunnel and Advanced Tech Suit, preparing for test runs. Rhodes argues the suggestion of traveling back in time to kill 'baby Thanos' to which Banner explains that altering events in the past will not alter the present but will instead create an alternate universe; leaving the only feasible course of action of acquiring the Infinity Stones to restore everyone in the present time. Believing himself to be expendable, Barton volunteers for the first-time travel test and is transported to a time period on his farm before the Snap. With disbelief and hope, he calls out to his daughter but is brought back to the present before she sees him. With the test proven a success, the Avengers proceed with the next phase of preparation: determining the location of each Infinity Stone in the past. This presents a challenge: as they possess a scarce supply of Pym Particles to operate with and no means of replenishing them because Hank Pym perished in the Snap, they only have enough for one round-trip each.

As the team discusses their past encounters with the Infinity Stones, they manage to recall the placement of each Infinity Stone in time. Fortunately, they realize the Time, Space, and Mind Stones were all present in 2012 New York City, in relatively close proximity with each other, following the Battle of New York. However, the other three Stones were only accessible to them in different places and times, with the Reality Stone being present on Asgard in 2013 (as explained to the remaining Avengers by Thor), and the Soul and Power Stones being present in 2014 on Vormir and Morag respectively. With their targets located, the Avengers split into three separate teams: Thor and Rocket to Asgard; Nebula and War Machine to Morag; Romanoff and Barton to Vormir; and Rogers, Stark, Banner, and Lang to New York.

In 2012 New York City, the team of Banner, Lang, Rogers, and Stark review their mission objectives and disperse. Banner heads over to the New York Sanctum where he encounters the Ancient One, who explains to Banner that Doctor Strange is not yet the Sorcerer Supreme in that time period and won't be for several years. Banner tries to persuade her to give him the Eye of Agamotto with the Time Stone, but his initial attempt fails, with the Ancient One sending Banner's astral form out of his body to protect the Stone. The Ancient One then educates Banner on the effects the Infinity Stones have on reality and possible ramifications that may result from the loss of just one. Though Banner makes a compelling argument, she is not convinced until he reveals that Strange willingly relinquished the Time Stone to Thanos, much to her surprise as she begins to realize that Strange's actions were part of a bigger plan. The Ancient One loans Banner the Time Stone and he promises to return it and the others once they've finished with them, before departing to rendezvous with the other Avengers.

Meanwhile, Stark and Lang infiltrate Stark Tower in the aftermath of the Battle of New York. After watching Loki's arrest, Stark departs in the Iron Man Armor: Mark LXXXV to the lobby area, carrying Lang. Lang plants himself onto Stark's 2012 counterpart who is transporting the Tesseract. However, the past Avengers are confronted by Alexander Pierce who wants to take the Tesseract from past Stark. Scott causes a distraction by interfering with the 2012 version of Stark's Arc Reactor and sending 2012 Stark into cardiac arrest, allowing a disguised 2023 Stark to secure the Tesseract and put it into his briefcase. Seemingly successful, 2023 Stark attempts to exit the area, but the 2012 version of Hulk bursts into the lobby from the stairwell in rage, causing Stark to drop the Tesseract. In the confusion, Loki manages to retrieve the Tesseract and use its power to escape captivity.

Meanwhile, A S.H.I.E.L.D. STRIKE team comprised of undercover HYDRA agents are taking Loki's Scepter with the Mind Stone to Dr. List, while Rogers sets out to retrieve it. Brock Rumlow, Jasper Sitwell, Jack Rollins and other undercover agents of HYDRA are transporting the Scepter by elevator. Rogers enters the elevator and presents the ruse that he has been ordered to take the Scepter, drawing suspicion from Rumlow and Sitwell, who doubt that Pierce has allowed a man outside of HYDRA to carry the weapon. Knowing that this will clear their suspicions, Rogers mutters, "Hail HYDRA," earning their trust and acquiring the Scepter. After getting the Scepter, Rogers, to his frustration, encounters his 2012 counterpart who mistakes him for Loki in disguise. The two begin to fight and 2012 Rogers gains the upper hand. Desperate, Present Rogers reveals to his past self that 2012 Bucky Barnes is still alive, much to the surprise of 2012 Rogers. Present Rogers uses the opportunity to reclaim the Scepter, which he uses to render his past self-unconscious and escape.

The team of Lang, Rogers, and Stark regroup as Stark and Lang admit they botched their mission and there's no way to find the Tesseract now. However, Tony realizes that he can find a place and time where he can retrieve not just the Tesseract, but additional Pym Particles that they can use to return home. Scott is given the Scepter to return to the present while Stark and Rogers travel to Camp Lehigh in 1970.

Meanwhile, Thor and Rocket travel to 2013 Asgard. The pair are able to locate Jane Foster and set out to use a device to extract the Aether from her body. Thor, however, gets distracted at seeing his mother, knowing that she will die later that day at the hands of Kurse during the Sacking of Asgard. He then abandons Rocket to go get some mead but is caught by Frigga, who is fully aware that he is from the future. Thor breaks down upon seeing his mother alive again and attempts to let her know of her future death, but she refuses to listen, insisting that Thor fix his own future rather than hers. Upon Rocket's retrieval of the Reality Stone and subsequent chase from Einherjar guards, Rocket interrupts Thor's talk with his mother, but he takes the chance to reclaim Mjølnir and say one final goodbye to his mother before he and Rocket return to the present.

Meanwhile, Rhodes, Nebula, Romanoff, and Clint time jump to 2014 Morag. Romanoff and Clint use the Benatar to travel to Vormir. Nebula and Rhodes go inside the Temple Vault and watch Star-Lord dance, both remarking on what a carefree idiot Quill was before knocking him out. They use his tools to break into the Vault and Nebula takes the Power Stone at the cost of her prosthetic arm being damaged. However, somewhere else in the universe aboard the Sanctuary II, the 2014 version of Thanos announces that Ronan the Accuser has found the location of the Power Stone; this information is shared with the 2014 versions of Gamora and Nebula when suddenly, the system in the 2014 version of Nebula starts interfacing with her 2023 self. Although present Nebula is unaware, the 2014 version of Nebula broadcasts her future self's visual feed. Thanos has his adoptive daughter examined by Ebony Maw and sees through footage from the future that he succeeds in his goals and the Snap, and after watching his decapitation at the hands of Thor in 2018, considers it "destiny fulfilled." The 2014 version of Nebula swears her loyalty to her father despite her seeming betrayal in the future, and Thanos decides to use her to achieve his goals quicker than he ever thought. A malfunctioning 2023 version of Nebula is stuck in 2014 while Rhodes travels back to the present time. 2023 Nebula is then found by the 2014 versions of Thanos and Nebula, who uses the present Nebula's time-traveling device to travel forward in time and impersonate her future self.

Meanwhile, Rogers and Stark arrive in 1970 as the Watcher Informant drives by, currently posing as a hippie. Rogers and Stark split up to locate the Pym Particles and find the Tesseract. Tony goes into the basement to look for the Tesseract in storage but is stunned when he runs into his dad Howard Stark, who is looking for Arnim Zola. He then gets to talk to his dad about his own birth, which is expected later the next month. Stark sees his father in a new light and, now a father himself, understands what he went through raising him. He manages to indirectly thank Howard for everything while maintaining his hidden identity. Rogers uses a distraction phone call to coerce Hank Pym into leaving his lab while he sneaks in and grabs the Pym Particles. On his way back, Rogers has to hide in an office, which turns out to be the office of Peggy Carter. He briefly reflects on the life he could have had with Carter and spots a photo of himself on her desk. He makes the rendezvous with Stark, who successfully obtained the Space Stone, and returns to the present.

Meanwhile, Romanoff and Barton are greeted on Vormir by Red Skull. Once they are informed of the sacrifice they have to make, the two argue over who should die for the Soul Stone and each forcibly attempt to stop the other. Both are ready to sacrifice themselves for the other as they both try to throw themselves off the cliff. Although Clint makes the jump, Romanoff saves him using her grappling hook and ends up hanging by his hand. Romanoff pleads with Clint to let her go, and despite Clint's refusal, forcibly lets go of his hand and falls to her death. A devastated Barton claims the Soul Stone and returns to the present without Romanoff.

The team returns to the New Avengers Facility in 2023 with all six Infinity Stones. They immediately notice the absence of Romanoff and Barton informs them of her death. The remaining Avengers take a moment by the lake to mourn her death before proceeding with their plan to use the Stones to not let Romanoff's sacrifice be in vain. Stark, with help from Banner and Rocket, creates a Nano Gauntlet to harness the stones, and Rocket starts a debate over who should use it. Thor insists upon being the one to wield it, claiming to be the strongest, but the others argue that using the gauntlet at full power channels more power than he's capable of safely handling both as a human and in his poor physical condition. Ultimately, Banner realizes that his physical form and relationship with gamma radiation make him the only safe candidate to use to the gauntlet. Banner puts the gauntlet on and it causes him intense pain as the energy from the stones surges through him. While several want him to take the gauntlet off, Rogers confirms that Banner is capable of continuing and Banner, despite great pain and difficulty, manages to put his fingers together and snap seconds later. As Banner collapses to the ground unconscious, Stark cools his scorched arm down as Ant-Man notices several birds seemingly appear outdoors out of nowhere, and Hawkeye receives a call from his wife, indicating that Hulk successfully reversed the Snap.

Just then, the 2014 version of Nebula activates the Quantum Tunnel to allow passage for Thanos' Sanctuary II, which carries an armada. Thanos opens fire on the facility, destroying the buildings. The 2014 version of Nebula returns to her father, who entrusts her with retrieving the stones while he waits for the Avengers. Back onboard the Sanctuary II, Gamora asks the future Nebula what happened between them. Nebula admits that she was determined to kill Gamora more than once, but the two eventually formed a bond as sisters and became friends. Gamora, who always had reservations about her commitment to Thanos, finally turns on him and frees present Nebula.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Avengers are separated. Thor, Rogers, and Stark are near the top of the rubble, so they decide to attack Thanos on their own. Barton finds the gauntlet deep in the wreckage and protects it from the Outriders. The 2014 version of Nebula returns in disguise and he hands over the gauntlet, but before she can kill him, Gamora and present Nebula intercept her. They attempt to convince her to leave Thanos, but she refuses, and present Nebula is forced to kill her past self.

Thor, Rogers, and Stark confront Thanos head-on, but he defeats them in his physical prime. Thanos admits that their actions have proven to him that his plan to wipe out half the universe was flawed, as the survivors were too busy dwelling on what was lost and trying to reverse it to make the most of the 'opportunity' they were given. Instead, Thanos now intends to wipe out this universe and then rebuild it in his own image, with no one having any knowledge about what came before.

During the struggle, Thanos manages to pin Thor down and prepares to kill him with Stormbreaker when suddenly Mjølnir hits him, and travels to Rogers' hand, with Captain America being another person other than Thor who is capable of wielding Mjølnir and being worthy enough to do so. Despite a valiant effort, Thanos subdues Rogers and breaks his shield. Thanos taunts Rogers with the notion that, although his intentions were never personal, he will take pleasure in destroying the Earth, and the Black Order descends from their ship with their armies of Chitauri, Outriders, and Sakaarans. With his shield broken and Mjølnir out of reach, a battle-weary Rogers prepares to make his last stand against Thanos and his massive army.

Just when all hope seems lost, Sling Ring portals open, transporting the previously fallen heroes, including Falcon, Doctor Strange, Wong, Black Panther, Shuri, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Drax, Groot, Wasp, Star-Lord, Mantis, and Winter Soldier. Pepper Potts joins the fight in her own armoured suit along with Valkyrie, Okoye, Korg, and Miek. Banner, Lang, Rhodes, and Rocket return from underground with Lang transforming into Giant-Man. These heroes lead the forces of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Dora Milaje, the Wakandan Army, Ravagers, and the Asgardians in the Battle of Earth. Rogers, with a cry of "Avengers, Assemble!", starts the Battle of Earth and the team tries to keep the Nano Gauntlet away from Thanos and his forces with the objective of sending the Infinity Stones back to their proper timelines. Since the Quantum Tunnel had been destroyed along with the Avengers' facility, their only alternative is to use the one housed in Luis' van, which is deep behind enemy lines. Over the course of the battle, the Avengers' forces managed to gain the upper hand. Scarlet Witch single-handedly overpowers Thanos in a furious display until he orders the Sanctuary II to fire upon the battlefield. This incapacitates Maximoff and destroys a dam, forcing Doctor Strange to hold back the water to keep it from flooding the battlefield. The Masters of the Mystic Arts generate shields to protect the forces of the Avengers. Spider-Man gains possession of the gauntlet and is taken to relative safety. Carol Danvers arrives from space and destroys the Sanctuary II, leaving only the ground forces.

Captain Marvel takes the gauntlet from Spider-Man and tries to fly it to the Quantum Tunnel. Just within reach of her goal, Thanos destroys the van with his sword and secures the gauntlet for himself. He puts it on and momentarily wields the power of the combined Infinity Stones, but Danvers engages Thanos before he can snap his fingers to wipe out the universe. A brief struggle ensues, with Thanos coming out on top after using the Power Stone to incapacitate Danvers. Strange looks at Tony and reminds him of their earlier discussion of the odds, holding up his finger to signal that there is only one way to stop Thanos. As Thanos tries again to activate the Infinity Stones and with all other Avengers being either busy or beaten, Stark leaps at Thanos and attempts to disarm him of the Nano Gauntlet in a brief struggle before being thrown off. The Mad Titan revels in his supposed victory and declares "I am... inevitable," echoing what his 2018 self said before his death, before snapping his fingers, but nothing happens. Thanos, to his shock, realizes the Infinity Stones are missing and he turns his attention turns to Stark, who is now in possession of the stones. Stark uses his nanotech suit to form a new gauntlet around them.

After wielding the power of the six Infinity Stones and victoriously declaring "And I...am...Iron Man," Tony snaps his fingers. In shock and horror, Thanos watches as his entire army turns to dust. He accepts defeat before he finally turns to dust as well, suffering the same fate his victims endured five years prior. Stark, weakened after his use of the Infinity Stones' raw power, collapses from his wounds. After sharing brief and silent goodbyes with Rhodes and Parker, Tony succumbs to his injuries in peace after being comforted by Potts, who assures him that she and Morgan will be safe.

With the Blip successful and the universe restored, the heroes reunite with their families and friends. In Tony's cabin, a goodbye message he recorded the night before the Time Heist plays to Tony's family and close friends, finishing with the hologram of him looking right at to his daughter, Morgan, and saying that "[he loves her] 3000." They proceed outside, where Pepper casts a funeral wreath with Tony's first Arc Reactor (which read "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart", given to him as a gift from Pepper) into the lake. The group is joined by other individuals close to Tony including Happy Hogan, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Thaddeus Ross, May Parker, Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, Hope van Dyne, the Guardians of the Galaxy, a delegation from Wakanda, remaining Avengers, and even Harley Keener, as they all recognize the sacrifice that Stark made to save them and the universe.

Barton and Maximoff comfort each other by the lake after the funeral, both suffering from their own losses of people close to them. Barton expresses that he wishes Natasha could know that they won, and her sacrifice didn't go wasted. Maximoff assures him that she knows they did, as does Vision.

Thor then leaves behind New Asgard after making Valkyrie the new queen and joins the Guardians of the Galaxy. On the Benatar, Quill looks at star maps, scanning for Gamora's 2014 self. Quill and Thor then have a quick argument about who is the leader of the group, as everyone else presumes Thor will be captain. Drax suggests they have a ritual knife fight to the death for the position, an idea which gets everyone else's approval. Although Thor reassures them that Quill is still the captain, the sly look on his face indicates that he still believes otherwise.

Rogers volunteers to go back in time to return the Infinity Stones and Mjølnir to their proper places in time. He bids farewell to Barnes and Wilson with a slightly longer farewell than would be expected, despite Banner stating he should be back in five seconds. Rogers disappears as planned, but he does not return on the expected count of five. After a brief argument where Wilson angrily demands that Banner bring back Rogers, Barnes notices an elderly man sitting alone on a bench by the river, silencing Wilson's concern. Wilson walks over and meets an aged version of his ally, Steve Rogers. Rogers tells him he had decided to stay in the past and experience life with Peggy Carter. Wilson is shocked but accepts Rogers' choice to hang up the shield, saddened that he will have to live in a world without Captain America. However, Rogers then passes his shield to Wilson.

Wilson is at first hesitant to take it, but Rogers tells him he should take it. As they shake hands, Wilson notices a ring on Rogers' left hand and asks if he'll tell him about her. Rogers simply responds, "No. No, I don't think I will," reminiscing upon a dance in the 1940s that he and Carter had in a suburban neighbourhood home before sharing a kiss.

## Cast

* Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
* Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America
	+ Patrick Gorman as Old Steve Rogers
* Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
* Chris Hemsworth as Thor
* Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
* Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
* Don Cheadle as James Rhodes / War Machine
* Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man
	+ Bazlo and Loen LeClair as Baby Scott Lang
	+ Jackson Dunn as 12-year-old Scott Lang
	+ Lee Moore as 93-year-old Scott Lang
* Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange
* Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther
* Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel
* Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
* Karen Gillan as Nebula
* Zoe Saldana as Gamora
* Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne / Wasp
* Tessa Thompson as Brunnhilde / Valkyrie
* Rene Russo as Queen Frigga
* Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
* Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon
* Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
* Tom Hiddleston as Loki
* Danai Gurira as Okoye
* Benedict Wong as Master Wong
* Pom Klementieff as Mantis
* Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer
* Letitia Wright as Princess Shuri
* John Slattery as Howard Stark
* Tilda Swinton as Ancient One
* Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
* Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
* Natalie Portman as Jane Foster
* Marisa Tomei as May Parker
* Taika Waititi as Korg
* Angela Bassett as Queen Mother Ramonda
* Michael Douglas as Doctor Hank Pym
	+ John Michael Morris as Young Hank Pym
* Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne
* William Hurt as Secretary Thaddeus Ross
* Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
* Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri / Rocket Raccoon
* Winston Duke as M'Baku
* Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton
* Maximiliano Hernández as Agent Jasper Sitwell
* Frank Grillo as Agent Brock Rumlow
* Hiroyuki Sanada as Akihiko
* Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw
* James D'Arcy as Edwin Jarvis
* Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds
* Vin Diesel as Groot
* Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon
* Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
* Robert Redford as Undersecretary Alexander Pierce
* Josh Brolin as Thanos
* Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord
* Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
* Lexi Rabe as Morgan Stark
	+ Katherine Langford as Teenage Morgan Stark
* Ross Marquand as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull
* Joe Russo as Bobby
* Emma Fuhrmann as Cassie Lang
* Michael Shaw as Corvus Glaive
* Terry Notary as Cull Obsidian / Groot
* Kerry Condon as F.R.I.D.A.Y.
* Ben Sakamoto as Cooper Barton
* Ava Russo as Lila Barton
* Code Woodward as Nathaniel Barton
* Stan Lee as '70s Car Man
	+ Anthony Breed as '70s Car Man (motion capture)
* Yvette Nicole Brown as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent
* Callan Mulvey as Agent Jack Rollins
* Ken Jeong as Storage Facility Guard
* Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener
* Monique Ganderton as Proxima Midnight
* Jim Starlin as Jimmy
* Unknown Actor as Miek

## Production

In October 2014, Marvel announced a two-part sequel to Age of Ultron, titled Avengers: Infinity War. Part 1 was scheduled to be released on May 4, 2018, with Part 2 scheduled for May 3, 2019. In April 2015, Marvel announced that Anthony and Joe Russo would direct both parts of Avengers: Infinity War, with back-to-back filming expected to begin in 2016. Also in the month, Kevin Feige said the films were titled as two parts of a single film "because they [have] such shared elements", but he would not actually describe them as "one story that's cut in half. I would say it's going to be two distinct movies." By May 2015, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely signed on to write the screenplays for both parts of the film. The following May, the Russo's revealed that they would be retitling the two films, to further remove the misconception that the films were one large film split in two, with Joe stating, "The intention is we will change [the titles], we just haven't come up with them yet." In July 2016, Marvel removed the film's title, simply referring to it as Untitled Avengers film. Feige and the Russo brothers indicated the title was being withheld because it would give away plot details for this film and Infinity War.

Principal photography began on August 10, 2017, under the working title Mary Lou 2, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, with Trent Opaloch serving as director of photography. The film, along with Infinity War, were shot using IMAX/Arri 2D cameras, thus marking the first time that a Hollywood feature film was shot entirely with IMAX digital cameras. Also in the month, filming occurred in The Gulch area of Downtown Atlanta, near the Five Points MARTA station, and Piedmont Park. Feige explained that the films were originally scheduled to be filmed simultaneously but were ultimately shot back-to-back, as "It became too complicated to cross-board them like that, and we found ourselves, again, something would always pay the price. We wanted to be able to focus and shoot one movie and then focus and shoot another movie." Anthony Russo originally felt it made more sense to shoot the films simultaneously due to financial and logistical reasons considering the large number of cast members and had suggested that "some days we'll be shooting the first movie and some days we'll be shooting the second movie. Just jumping back and forth." The 2013 Asgard scenes were shot at Durham Cathedral in Durham, England during production of Infinity War in early May 2017. Production wrapped on January 11, 2018, although additional filming took place in Dutchess and Ulster counties in New York in June 2018. Reshoots began by September 7, 2018 and concluded on October 12, 2018. More reshoots occurred in January 2019. Location shooting also took place in St Abbs, Scotland, which doubled for New Asgard in Norway. Evans and Hemsworth each earned $15 million for the film.

The film's official title, Avengers: Endgame, and final U.S. release date of April 26, 2019, were revealed with the film's first trailer in December 2018. Visual effects for the film were created by Industrial Light & Magic, Weta Digital, DNEG, Framestore, Cinesite, Digital Domain, Rise, Lola VFX, Cantina Creative, Capital T, Technicolor VFX, and Territory Studio. As with previous MCU films, Lola worked on the de-aging sequences; the film features 200 de-aging and aging shots. Downey, Evans, Ruffalo, Hemsworth, Johansson, and Renner were de-aged to their 2012 appearances for scenes recreated from The Avengers (2012). Michael Douglas, John Slattery, and Stan Lee were also de-aged for the 1970 New Jersey sequences; Douglas' appearance in The Streets of San Francisco was referenced. Lola also aged-up Evans for the final scene where he is portrayed as an elderly man, using some make-up and a stand-in as reference. Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt served as the film's editors.

## Music

See Also: Avengers: Endgame Soundtrack and Music of Marvel Cinematic Universe

In June 2016, Alan Silvestri, who composed the score for The Avengers, was revealed to be returning to score both Infinity War and Endgame. The Russo's started working with Silvestri on the Endgame score in early November 2018, and it was completed in late March 2019. A soundtrack album featuring Silvestri's score was released by Hollywood Records digitally on April 26, 2019, with a physical release on May 24. A music video for the track "Portals", composed for the climactic scene in which reinforcements arrive for the Avengers, was released on June 13.

Silvestri described the score as having the most versatile tone of the franchise, ranging from "thunderous percussion and powerful brass" for the action sequences to minimalist, jazz-inspired music for Ant-Man and the quantum realm. Silvestri reprises his themes from the previous Avengers films and Captain America: The First Avenger, including material he wrote for Thanos and the Infinity Stones in Infinity War. He found writing the music to end Captain America's story poignant, since he had "been on this journey with him since the beginning". The film also uses the Ant-Man theme by Christophe Beck, the Doctor Strange theme by Michael Giacchino, and the Captain Marvel theme by Pinar Toprak. Additionally, the songs "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone and "It's Been a Long, Long Time" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn are used, after previously being heard in Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, respectively.

## Marketing

The marketing campaign for Endgame cost over $200 million, the most for any Marvel Studios film. Promotional partners included Stand Up to Cancer, Mastercard, Ultra Beauty, the Audi e-tron GT Concept car (which appears in the film), McDonald's, GEICO, Coca-Cola, Google, General Mills, Hertz, Ziploc, Oppo, and Synchrony Financial.

A year prior to the film's release, Germain Lussier of io9 spoke on the approach Marvel might have to take in marketing the film, given the end of Infinity War where many established characters die. He questioned if those characters would appear on posters and in toy campaigns and if the actors portraying them would participate in press events leading up to the film's release. Lussier felt Disney and Marvel could focus on the original Avengers team members, who make up the majority of the living characters, but noted it would be more beneficial to show the return of the dead characters, which would "build a mystery and curiosity about how they come back. It could create a whole new level of interest about the film while having all the stars front and centre, as they should be". Feige spoke to this in June 2018, stating that these dead characters would not be featured in any marketing for the film. He presented a behind-the-scenes video from the film at CineEurope and said that the official marketing campaign for the film would begin at the end of 2018. In early December 2018, ahead of the first trailer's release, Graeme McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the "fevered anticipation" surrounding it. McMillan felt what was so remarkable about the anticipation, was that it was mostly "fan-created, without noticeable direction from Marvel or the filmmakers involved" and that the amount of knowledge surrounding the film without any type of promotion was "a kind of brand awareness that most studios would kill for". Because of this, McMillan urged Marvel not to release any trailers for the film since "the advanced level of enthusiasm that's already out there for the movie... is only likely to build as it gets closer to" the film's release. That said, he added that the eventual release of the trailer would take away the "Schrödinger's cat-esque position... it currently enjoys" as it was "almost guaranteed to disappoint fans" at this point.

The first trailer for the film was released on December 7, 2018. Dustin Sandoval, vice president of digital marketing for Marvel Studios, stated the marketing team "actively made the choice not to include the title or hashtag of the movie in our trailer posts so fans could see it at the end reveal without it being spoiled". Richard Newby, also of The Hollywood Reporter felt, while not much new was revealed in the trailer, it "offers a sombre glimpse of a universe made unrecognizable" and lets the viewer "sit, rightfully so, with the ending of Avengers: Infinity War and our questions of loss". Newby also noted how the trailer "calls back to beginnings of the MCU... as the visual language used in the trailer does a great service by highlighting these characters' humble beginnings", and concluded it leaves viewers with "just as many questions as we had before". Austen Goslin of Polygon pointed out that the title not only references a line Doctor Strange tells Tony Stark in Infinity War, but also a line spoken by Stark in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Goslin said, "The scene surrounding this line in Age of Ultron is one of the most important ones in the movie. Things look dark, and the group of heroes face an enemy they don't think they can defeat." As such, the Endgame trailer "mirrors this perfectly" and "shows us that the Avengers' two most prominent characters are who they've always been: Iron Man, a pessimist who keeps fighting no matter how hopeless things look, and Captain America, an optimist who believes that nothing is hopeless when the world's heroes fight together". The trailer was viewed 289 million times in its first 24 hours, becoming the most viewed trailer in that time period, surpassing the record of Avengers: Infinity War (230 million views). The trailer also set a record for Twitter conversation for a film trailer in the first 24 hours, generating 549,000 mentions. By January 3, 2019, Box Office's "Trailer Impact" metric service indicated approximately 77-78% of people surveyed who viewed the Endgame trailer in the past three weeks had expressed interest in seeing the film. In the three weeks it was measured by the service, the trailer was number one for all and had the top two percent of respondents express interest in seeing the film since the service's introduction in March 2018.

The second trailer for the film, along with the theatrical release poster, was released on March 14, 2019. All 13 actors featured on the poster received top-billing except for Danai Gurira, whose name still appeared in the poster's bottom billing block along with Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, and Gwyneth Paltrow (none of whom were featured on the poster). Despite this, her exclusion in the top billing prompted criticism from some fans. Petrana Radulovic of Polygon noted how an actor is credited on the poster "is a complex process" based on 'dealing with agents, fees, and movie star demands." However, Marvel Studios released an updated poster later that day with Gurira in the top billing. The second trailer was viewed 268 million times in the first 24 hours, becoming the second most viewed trailer in that time period behind the film's first trailer.

## Release

### Theatrical

Avengers: Endgame had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 22, 2019. Disney converted the convention centre's Hall K for the film's premiere, working with Dolby and QSC Audio to install a 70-foot (21 metres) screen, Dolby Vision projectors, and a Dolby Atmos sound system. The convention centre also held the premiere's red-carpet arrival and after party. The film was released in Australia, China, and other parts of Asia and Europe on April 24, in the United Kingdom on April 25, in the United States and India on April 26, and in Russia on April 29 in IMAX and 3D. It was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on May 3. Radio Liberty alleged that the Russian government postponed the film's release in that country to promote Russian-produced films.

Following the release of the second trailer for Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: Far From Home on May 6, Marvel began showing it at the end of Endgame screenings with a message before the film from Far From Home star Tom Holland telling the audience to stay until the end of the credits to see the trailer. In June, Feige announced that Avengers: Endgame would be re-released in theatres with seven minutes of new post-credits footage, including a Stan Lee tribute, an unfinished deleted scene, and the opening scene of Far From Home. A new poster would also be given out at select theatres. The re-release began on June 28 in the United States, across 1,040 theatres.

### Home Media

Avengers: Endgame was released in the US on digital download by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on July 30, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on August 13. The film was released on both Digital HD and Blu-ray on September 2 in the UK. Streaming is exclusive to Disney+ since November 12. The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel. Despite being filmed with IMAX cameras and released in IMAX theatres in the 1.90:1 aspect ratio, the home media release only includes the cropped 2.39:1 aspect ratio version that was used for non-IMAX screenings.

## Reception

Avengers: Endgame, which was widely anticipated for months before its release, had a substantial cultural impact. In 2019, following the death of Tony Stark in the film, a statue representing the character in his Iron Man armour was erected in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

### Box Office

Avengers: Endgame grossed $858.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.939 billion in other territories, for a worldwide total of $2.8 billion. It is the highest-grossing film of all time, as well as the second-highest-grossing film of all time in the United States and Canada. Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind (1939) remains the highest-grossing film, and Avengers: Endgame is the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide.

The film had a worldwide opening of $1.2 billion, the biggest of all time and nearly double Infinity War's previous record of $640.5 million. It was also the fastest film ever to eclipse the $1 billion and $1.5 billion mark, doing so in just five days and eight days respectively (less than half what it took Infinity War). Deadline Hollywood estimated the film would break even just five days after its release, which is "unheard of for a major studio tentpole during its opening weekend". The website estimated it would turn a net profit of $600-650 million, accounting for production budgets, P&A, talent participations, and other costs, with box office grosses and ancillary revenues from home media. On May 4, the film's earnings at the global box office passed the entire theatrical run of Infinity War and became the fastest film ever to gross $2 billion worldwide, amassing the amount in only 11 days (beating Avatar that did so in 47 days). It also became the fifth film to surpass this threshold (after Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Infinity War), and the second film to surpass the threshold of $2.5 billion, doing so in just 20 days, outpacing Avatar's record of 72 days.

At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Feige announced that Disney had overlooked $2 million of weekday ticket sales when doing accounting and that Endgame would surpass Avatar's total box office return that weekend to be the highest-grossing film.

#### Pre-Sale Records

In late December 2018, Endgame was named the second-most anticipated 2019 film by IMDb behind Captain Marvel, the most anticipated 2019 blockbuster according to the ticketing service Fandango, and the most anticipated overall film by Atom Tickets.

Due to the high demand when pre-sale tickets became available in the U.S. on April 2, 2019, customers on both Atom Tickets and Fandango experienced long wait times and system delays, while AMC Theatres' website and app crashed completely for several hours. The same day, Fandango announced the film became its top-selling pre-sale title for the first 24 hours, topping Star Wars: The Force Awakens' previous record in just six hours. Atom said the film was also the website's best-selling first-day film (outselling Aquaman by four times), and Regal Cinemas reported that Endgame had sold more tickets in its first eight hours than Infinity War did in its entire first week. The film grossed $120-140 million in pre-sales alone. The day prior to the film's release, Fandango announced it was its biggest pre-selling title of all time, beating The Force Awakens, with over 8,000 sold-out showtimes across the country.

In India, the film sold one million tickets in just one day for the English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu language screenings; 18 tickets were sold every second. In China, pre-sale tickets became available on April 12 and sold a record one million tickets in just six hours, outselling Infinity War's first 24-hour total within the first hour and made $114.5 million (RMB 770 million) just from pre-sales.

#### United States and Canada

On April 4, industry tracking projected the film would gross $200–250 million domestically during its opening weekend, although some insiders saw those figures as conservative and expected a $260-300 million-debut. By the week of its release, domestic estimates had risen to $260-270 million, with some insiders still suggesting a $300 million debut was possible. The film played in 4,662 theatres, 410 of which were in IMAX; it is the widest release ever, surpassing the record of Despicable Me 3's 4,529 theatres. Avengers: Endgame earned $357.1 million in its opening weekend, breaking Infinity War's record by nearly $100 million. It also set records for Friday ($157.5 million, including $60 million from Thursday night previews), Saturday ($109.3 million) and Sunday ($90.4 million) totals, as well as was more of a total gross alone than the previous box office high of all films combined ($314 million). The film then made $36.9 million on Monday and $33.1 million on Tuesday, both the third-highest of all time. In its second weekend the film made $147.4 million (the second-best sophomore frame ever) for a 10-day total of $621.3 million. It was the fastest film to ever pass the $600 million milestone, beating The Force Awakens' 12 days and less than half the 26 days it took Infinity War. The following week, the film grossed $64.8 million, the fourth-best third weekend ever. It also passed the $700 million mark, tying The Force Awakens' record of 16 days. Endgame was finally dethroned in its fourth weekend by newcomer John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, however its $29.3 million was enough for it to pass Avatar as the second-highest-grossing film ever domestically. It made $17.2 million the following weekend (and a total of $22.3 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame), crossing the $800 million threshold domestically. During the re-release, which occurred over its tenth weekend, the film was added to 1,040 theatres and made $6.1 million, an increase of 207% from the previous weekend. In its thirteenth weekend the film made $1.2 million, which put it over the threshold to top Avatar's all-time record and brought its running domestic total to $854.2 million.

#### Other Territories

Internationally, Endgame was projected to gross around $680 million over its first five days for a global debut of $850–950 million. The film was initially projected to gross $250-280 million in China in its opening weekend but made a record $107.5 million (RMB 719 million) in the country on its first day, including $28.2 million (RMB 189 million) from midnight, 3 AM and 6 am screenings, beating The Fate of the Furious' previous record of $9.1 million. Due to the record-breaking first day, partnered with word of mouth (with a 9.1 on local review aggregator Douban and a 9.3 on ticket website Maoyan), debut projections were increased to over $300 million. Overall, the film made $169 million on the first day from international countries, the highest total of all time. Its largest markets after China were India ($9 million), South Korea ($8.4 million; the largest non-holiday single day gross ever), Australia ($7.1 million), France ($6 million) and Italy ($5.8 million). Like domestically, the film ended up over-performing and debuted to $866.5 million overseas. Not only was it the highest foreign amount ever, but it was single-handedly more than Infinity War's global opening of $640 million. Its largest markets, every one of which set the record for best-ever opening in the country, were China ($330.5 million; RMB 2.22 billion), the United Kingdom ($53.8 million), South Korea ($47.4 million), Mexico ($33.1 million), Australia ($30.8 million), Brazil ($26 million), Spain ($13.3 million), Japan ($13 million) and Vietnam ($10 million). It also made $21.6 million over its first four days in Russia after a delay of its premiere that was caused by the Russian government.

In its first week, the film's top five largest international markets were China ($459.4 million), the United Kingdom ($68.2 million), South Korea ($60.3 million), Mexico ($48.6 million), and India ($40.9 million). A week after its release, it became the highest-grossing foreign film of all time in China and India. In its second weekend the film's running total passed $1.569 billion from international markets, passing Titanic as the second-highest film overseas of all time.

As of August 25, 2019, the film's top international markets were China ($614 million), United Kingdom ($115 million), South Korea ($105 million), Brazil ($86 million), and Mexico ($78 million).

### Critical Response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 94% with an average score of 8.24/10, based on 505 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Exciting, entertaining, and emotionally impactful, Avengers: Endgame does whatever it takes to deliver a satisfying finale to Marvel's epic Infinity Saga." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100 based on 57 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" grade, the third Marvel film to earn the score after The Avengers and Black Panther, while those at PostTrak gave it 5 out of 5 stars and a "definite recommend" of 85%.

Writing for NPR, Glen Weldon gave the film a positive review and found the film to be a worthy sequel to its predecessor, stating, "The Russo's decision to stick close to the experiences of the remaining Avengers proves a rewarding one, as they've expressly constructed the film as an extended victory lap for the Marvel Cinematic Universe writ large. Got a favourite character from any Marvel movie over the past decade, no matter how obscure? Prepare to get serviced, fan." Peter Travers in his review for Rolling Stone gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying, "You don't have to make jokes about the clichéd time travel plot, the film is ready, willing and able to make its own, with Back to the Future coming in for a serious ribbing."

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "After the must-see showdown that was Infinity War, the Russo brothers deliver a more fan-facing three-hour follow-up, rewarding loyalty to Marvel Cinematic Universe." J. R. Kinnard of PopMatters wrote, "Big budget action filmmaking doesn't get much better than this." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said, "What comes across most strongly here, oddly enough for an effects-driven comic-book-derived film, is the character acting, especially from Downey, Ruffalo, Evans, Hemsworth, Brolin and Paul Rudd". Richard Roeper, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film four stars and praised its "emotional punch", as well as the "funny, well-paced, smart, expertly rendered screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, crisp direction from Anthony Russo and Joe Russo..., and the universally stellar performances".

The New York Times reviewer A. O. Scott gave the film a positive though guarded review, stating, "Endgame is a monument to adequacy, a fitting capstone to an enterprise that figured out how to be good enough for enough people enough of the time. Not that it's really over, of course: Disney and Marvel are still working out new wrinkles in the time-money continuum. But the Russo's do provide the sense of an ending, a chance to appreciate what has been done before the timelines reset and we all get back to work." Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Avengers: Endgame achieves and earns its climactic surge of feeling, even as it falls just short of real catharsis". Some have noted the film as a notable improvement over its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, such as Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com, who stated that Endgame is "a more patient, focused film than Infinity War, even as its plot draws in elements of a dozen other movies." Matt Zoller Seitz, also of RogerEbert.com, gave the film a positive assessment as compared with Infinity War, which he considered "too crowded, too rushed and yet too long". Seitz stated that Endgame is "a heartfelt and satisfying experience", along with being a "surprisingly relaxed, character-driven, self-aware yet sincere comedy for two-thirds of the film. Much of the script suggests a laid-back Richard Linklater movie with superheroes". Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal acknowledged the unique achievement that Avengers: Endgame accomplished as the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, calling the final battle "inevitably unwieldy... but thrilling all the same, and followed by a delicate coda. So many stories. So many adventures. So much to sort out before the next cycle starts."

Richard Brody, writing for The New Yorker, was more critical of the film, opining that the good acting was not matched by comparable skill from the directors. He said, "The Russo's have peculiarly little sense of visual pleasure, little sense of beauty, little sense of metaphor, little aptitude for texture or composition; their spectacular conceit is purely one of scale, which is why their finest moments are quiet and dramatic ones". Anthony Lane of The New Yorker gave the film a compromising review, finding it to be overdeveloped and overwrought, stating, "The one thing you do need to know about Avengers: Endgame is that it runs for a little over three hours, and that you can easily duck out during the middle hour, do some shopping, and slip back into your seat for the climax. You won't have missed a thing."

## Future

In May 2018, Disney CEO Bob Iger said of Marvel's plans beyond Endgame, "I'm guessing we will try our hand at what I'll call a new franchise beyond Avengers, but that doesn't necessarily mean you won't see more Avengers down the road. We just haven't made any announcements about that." Iger added, "Given the popularity of the characters and given the popularity of the franchise, I don't think people should conclude there will never be another Avengers movie." Shortly after the film's premiere, the Russo brothers said they were not opposed to returning to the MCU in the future due to their positive relationship with Marvel Studios but did not plan to do so at that time.