Marvel Studios just took the internet by storm dropping the trailer for and revealing the title of Avengers: Endgame and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen it countless times already. In fact, you’ve probably also seen the poster and are one of the 1 million+ people who’ve viewed and liked the trailer less than an hour of it being uploaded online. And chances are you’ve stumbled upon posts breaking down and explaining the trailer in all its glory.
Regardless, being fans of the movie, I’m sure there will be endless blogs out there attempting to do their own breakdowns of the trailer, wanting to have it explained to the general audiences in their own language. I thought I’d do a breakdown myself and take a stab at laying down the general structure and revelations brought forth by the trailer as well as any possible misdirects the Russo Brothers Anthony and Joe might be trying to throw at us. And yes, there were significant reveals, despite the highly cryptic and minimalistic nature of the trailer.
So grab your popcorn and brace yourselves for a lengthy post talking about all things Avengers and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Tony Stark Stuck, Adrift In Space
The trailer begins by showing us the Iron Man Mark XV’s half-smacked helmet, which was badly damaged in Stark’s fight against Thanos on Titan. Stark himself is in one of Thanos’ ships, adrift in space, having exhausted his supplies 4 days ago. Believing he’ll run out of oxygen within a day, he contacts Pepper Potts to send what he feels is a final message.
As emotional it is to see Stark helpless, this could be a key sequence that connects to the remainder of the movie. We know from a shot later in the trailer that Nebula is in the ship with Stark when she comforts him, perhaps after seeing his post-traumatic stress disorder return from Iron Man 3 and manifest itself as anxiety over breathlessness. At this point, the only chance Stark has of surviving is if something, or someone flies to space to save him. Which is where Captain Marvel comes in.
We saw in the recently released Captain Marvel trailer how she comfortably flies and dogfights in space. It’s possible one of the post-credits scene in the movie has her come in contact with Stark’s ship. It’s also possible that Pepper gets the message Stark sends her and she somehow comes in contact with Carol Danvers who then launches into space to save Stark.
There’s also a subtle hint at Tony talking to Pepper in hopes of being “rescued”. The choice of words is a clear and deliberate nod to Pepper Potts donning the Iron Man armor in the comics and becoming the superhero “Rescue”. As fans will note, Gwyneth Paltrow donned the armor briefly in Iron Man 3 when Stark’s Malibu mansion was under attack.
Marvel Studios Logo Disintegrating
The aforementioned scene with Stark ends and leads into a haunting Marvel Studios 10th Anniversary Logo disintegrating. It’s an eerie image, much like the entire tone of the trailer that at once sells you on the movie’s setting after the snap of Avengers: Infinity War and makes you afraid of the bleak world you’re about to see.
Thanos or Hulk?
We’re next treated to what looks like an alien planet, presumably the home town of Titan. Upon a superfluous look, it appears Thanos has hung up the armor and roams around the fields, searching for meaning to his life, which if true, would only add additional depth to his character and could provide some room to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley to flex their great writing muscles.
On second thought, an alternate theory I have based on the rumored plot leaks is that this man walking with the gauntlet in his hand is not Thanos but the Hulk. The T-Shirt and Jeans he’s wearing are a giveaway; it’s highly unlikely Thanos would wear civilian clothes. Hulk donning the Infinity Gauntlet jibes nicely with what we’ve learned and theorized about the movie’s plot and this shot could be a nice bit of misdirection on part of the Russos to throw us off.
The World In Disarray, Captain America In Tears
An establishing shot of the Avengers facility hints at a world in chaos. With 50% of the population gone, as Black Widow points out, the world ought to have been thrown in disarray, with parts of it left vacant and deserted. It’s a perfect apocalyptic scenario that can be played out to its full potential given great some directing chops by the Russo Brothers.
Our beloved Captain America is back. The beard’s gone, he’s in tears having lost both his best friends Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, who he had already lost once before during World War II. He fought Thanos hand-to-hand but still couldn’t prevent him from snapping his Gauntlet and it clearly hits him at an emotional level.
The Missing Characters: Scott Lang, Peter Parker and Shuri
Bruce Banner looks at those we lost, or presumed lost during the snap. Among the names are Scott Lang, Peter Parker and Shuri. This shot has the most misdirect potential since the faces of any of those characters could be easily replaced in the final edit of the film. While Shuri is assumed to have been lost to the snap going by the trailer, it’s quite possible she’s a part of the movie and the Russos are making it appear as though she’s lost, sparing Leticia Wright from promoting the movie.
Scott Lang is also presumed to be missing, and we certainly know that’s not the case. He was last seen entering the Quantum Realm but he somehow probably comes out; more on that later.
Thor’s Guilt
We see a shot of Thor in civilian clothes, reminiscent of his human identity of Donal Blake from the comics (well, sort of). The guilt of not having killed Thanos must’ve killing Thor after realizing what havoc Thanos ended up unleashing henceforth.
The guilt of losing Asgardians, including his brother Loki and friend Heimdall must also be weighing on him heavily. The Asgardians were first slaughtered by Thanos’ Black Order who killed half of them. Then the snap obliterated half of what was left over, resulting in about a quarter Asgardians standing, among whom we definitely believe Valkyre to have survived. Korg and Meek could also be alive but that still doesn’t make up for the countless folks lost.
Hawkeye Gone Ronin Mode
Hawkeye’s appearance indirectly confirms what we’ve long been expecting of his character; that he’s gone full on Ronin mode. In the comics, Ronin was the identity Hawkeye assumed when he went full rogue assassin mode, bumping off criminals. In the movie, he’s believed to be pursuing an as yet unknown agenda that lands him in Hong Kong which is where Black Widow spots him.
Again, potential for misdirect here: Despite her umbrella suggesting otherwise, it’s possible Black Widow isn’t present in the scene and it’s just some clever editing to obscure who Hawkeye really comes in contact with. Although given the history the two shared in The Avengers, especially their past in Budapest, it’s plausible that Widow indeed comes face to face with Ronin, making for a poetic reunion.
As an aside, Hawkeye seems to be fighting in the same street that Doctor Strange faught Kaecilius in his own movie before bargaining with Dormammu.
Captain America and Black Widow’s Plan
In a last-ditch effort to get the Avengers back, it appears Captain America and Black Widow have come up with a plan. Cap is adamant about pursuing it, not having any other option, willing to sacrifice his life if it were so due to the plan failing. The desperation is clear; Cap wants to undo the damage caused by Thanos and he’s about to take a step so big it could have ripple effects all over.
The background is quite reminiscent of Hank Pym’s laboratory from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Considering Black Widow explicitly confirmed that only “living beings” vanished, the lab should be standing in place. From the looks of it then, Cap and Black Widow are looking at entering the Quantum Realm, with Widow even having her stealth gloves on. It’s possible their costumes will be CGIed to include the Quantum Realm suits that were leaked earlier this month. Together this seems like a major lead into the time travel theory we’ve heard about.
As a fun fact, he looks at Peggy Carter’s compass, which subtly hints at him going back in time to rescue the fallen heroes. It’s also a tease suggesting the first place that Cap could end up in could be right back in World War II. Of course the time travel angle has other implications which we’ll explore separately.
Scott Lang
The one with the most lines in the trailer, and one to add some levity to the otherwise grim tease, Scott Lang makes his appearance at the end at Cap’s doorstep. There are two huge implications of this tease, chief among those is that Lang somehow figured out a way to get himself of the Quantum Realm after he got stuck there during the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Armed with the knowledge of traversing the Quantum Realm through time and alternate dimensions, Paul Rudd’s Lang could hold the key to defeating Thanos.
The other implication is that somehow, the Scott Lang at Cap’s doorstep is a Skrull. Now it would be far-fetched to imagine a Skrull get wind of Lang’s mannerisms and character, since we’re unsure how Skrulls work in the MCU. While it’s still possible that Lang got out of the Realm AND later on ended up being impersonated by a Skrull, it’s probably taking things a bit too far.
Finally, and this one’s a doozy, Cap and Widow have a rather strange reaction to Lang’s appearance. Assuming they both are in the Avengers tower, a location with Lang is already familiar with thanks to his skirmish with Falcon in Age of Ultron, it’s possible there’s some time travel shenanigans involved, meaning either Cap and Widow are displaced in time, or Scott has come out at the other end of the Realm. Regardless, it’s going to be bittersweet for Lang to meet his hero Captain America again after having fought side by side in Captain America: Civil War.
The Title Reveal
On the surface, it may appear that the title reveal doesn’t give anything away. How could it, it’s simply a title reveal. But the animation does suggest and hint at the outcome of Avengers: Endgame. If you look closely, you’ll realize the animation integrates the broken pieces together to form the title, suggesting that Thanos’ snap would be undone at the end of Endgame. If it’s any consolation, we might see our dead heroes resurrected with a similar animation; the disintegration played in reverse.
So that’s our breakdown, explanation, analysis, or whatever you wish to call it, of our Avengers 4 a.k.a. Avengers: Endgame trailer (it’s going to get a while to get used to that name). How do you think we did? Did you feel we missed something? Drop us a line or two in the comments below.
Avengers: Endgame releases in theaters all over on April 26, 2019.
It features an ensemble cast featuring the original lineup of 2012’s The Avengers comprising of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (Iron Man), Chris Evans as Steve Rogers (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (Hulk), Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson (Just Thor). Supporting them in their endeavor are Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodey Rhodes (War Machine), William Hurt as General Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Leticia Wright as Shuri and Josh Brolin as Thanos.
