If you’re reading this post, you probably want to watch the first trailer for the new Avengers movie. So go ahead, watch it. I’ll wait.
It doesn’t show much that viewers of “Avengers: Infinity War” hadn’t already guessed (spoilers!): Namely, that the galactic warlord Thanos has succeeded in his plot to eliminate half the population of the universe, including a big swath of the Avengers cast. But Captain America and the remaining heroes have a desperate plan to bring everyone back.
The trailer doesn’t end with the usual montage of CGI explosions. Instead, the footage consists of just a handful of ominous scenes, reinforcing that this will be the final adventure for some of the best-known Avengers — the footage opens with Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man reminding us that “part of the journey is the end,” while beyond the trailer, Chris Evans has confirmed that he’s done playing Captain America.
And then there’s the title. Marvel has been remarkably cryptic about it, leaving everyone to talk about the “still-untitled Avengers 4” for months. Even the trailer’s YouTube description withholds this information — clearly, Marvel was hoping you wouldn’t find out until the very end of the video.
So. After all that build up, we learn that the fourth Avengers movie will be called… “Endgame.” Which is fine! Really, it’s a perfectly fine title for a movie that’s meant to wrap up this chapter of the Avengers story. But I have to admit that when the words came on the screen, my first response was: That’s it??
Anyway, I’m still feeling optimistic about the movie. I found “Infinity War” a bit overstuffed, but hopefully by (temporarily) pushing so many characters offstage, it gave its sequel the space needed for the original team to get the sendoff it deserves.
“Avengers: Endgame” opens on April 26, 2019.