Avengers: Endgame TV Spot!

The raging debate over whether we would be getting a new Avengers: Endgame trailer today, the same day that tickets for the movie officially go on sale, can finally be laid to rest. We got one precious minute of material, almost all of it new, and it is stunningly beautiful. Let’s jump right into this.

We start out with a lovely panoramic shot of the Avengers HQ – the sun is sinking, the place looks pretty normal. And yet, all is not okay here: Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and War Machine (Don Cheadle) are busy discussing what they’re going to do – Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is seen sitting outside in the rain, looking absolutely miserable. Black Widow’s getting a solo movie next year: she should look more happy! Then again, her solo movie is a prequel to all these events, so she could also die in Endgame.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is shown staring into a bathroom mirror – since he appears to have just shaved, this could explain where and when he loses the infamous beard that he sported in Avengers: Infinity War. He also looks sad and grim. On him falls the task of trying to figure out how on earth they’re going to defeat Thanos.

There’s the same great shot of the Avengers Quinjet flying low over a brightly-city – New York? I’ve also seen speculation that this is Hong Kong, but I’m more inclined to believe the heroes are heading towards NYC for whatever reason. Another shot later on in the trailer also seems to point to that.

While Tony’s voice-over begins to tell us that it’s “not about how much we lost – it’s about how much we have left”, we see Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) comforting the cold android Nebula (Karen Gillan). Clearly, Nebula is pondering something, but there’s a shot later in the trailer that better illustrates this, so I’ll talk about it there. These scenes of our remaining heroes trying desperately to help are so touching – and so brilliant. They give us the feels, and that’s a good thing. The emotional punch this movie is going to pack is really going to hit critics too, I believe. I wouldn’t be surprised if the more character-driven storyline and the heavier and darker material get this movie a few Oscars of its own next year.

Oh, and of course the very next shot is of Pepper reuniting with Tony: this trailer is determined to make me cry. We knew Pepper had been spared from the Decimation because of some posters released, but it’s still startling to see her here.

The next scene! Oh, it’s so beautiful! So we have Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) himself, flying over New York City in the daylight, and he seems to be looking for something. He’s wearing his Mark 85 suit – special thanks to my friend Naglfar over at the SuperHeroHype Forums for pointing that out to me.

There’s a few clips of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), sporting some new arm tattoos, and Black Widow again – and then there’s the same scene from the end of the last trailer, with Thor summoning his kingly weapon Stormbreaker, which flies right past the head of a very unfazed Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). Then we’ve got a stunning money-shot of almost all our Avengers standing together: Hawkeye, War Machine, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Nebula, Rocket Raccoon, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and Black Widow. The only notable absences are Thor and Captain Marvel.

But nothing will prepare you for what comes next: if you’re very wary of any spoilers, you might want to leave now, but honestly this is just so wonderful and so awesome to see onscreen that I can’t not mention it here.

 

Still here?

Tony and Steve’s reunion is a thing of beauty. They appear to be standing in a street in New York City, also in the daytime, and Tony asks simply, bluntly: “Do you trust me?”

There’s hardly a pause before Steve responds. “I do.”

The two shake hands.

It’s so simple, but so heartfelt. This scene is definitely going to be one of the defining parts of the film itself.

The last minute of the trailer is incredible and fast-paced, so get ready. I don’t think you’re entirely prepared. It starts with the Guardians’ spacecraft shooting across the far distances of the galaxy – but onboard is one of the finest teams ever assembled: Captain Marvel and Rocket Raccoon at the helm, Black Widow (oddly, still sporting her short blond hair from Infinity War), Steve Rogers, War Machine and Thor. This shot is so cool – I can’t wait to see how Captain Marvel fits into this group.

Next, Marvel decides to hit us with the feels again, showing us Tony Stark as he looks down at a photograph of himself with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) who was turned to dust in Avengers: Infinity War. It drives the point home – the Avengers have to do something, anything, whatever it takes, to get half of the population back. We don’t know how, we don’t know what it will cost, but we know it has to be done.

Suddenly, Tony looks up from the photo: this scene is perfectly edited, because Thanos’ voice-over starts speaking a moment before he glances up. The Titan is grim and brutal: “You could not live with your own failure,” he intones, and the audience collectively wants to kill him. But our hopes are shattered by a terrifying vision of Thanos’ vast mother-ship, an enormous thing lurking in space. The sight of it is depressing, to say the least – but one of our Avengers seems to recognize this place.

Nebula. Her dark eyes are impassive as she stares up at the enormous ship – she is of course the daughter of Thanos, and her sister was killed by him. If anyone is going to deliver that fatal blow to the Titan, it’s got to be her: she was literally torn apart by him, and had parts of her body replaced by metal scraps. She’s a dangerous, uncontrollable creature, and I personally cannot wait to see what happens when she gets her last fight with her father.

Immediately after that, we see Thor and Rocket Raccoon both looking shocked: where they are is unclear, but it almost appears to be the same house where we last saw Thanos, at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Perhaps Thor and Rocket go here to find the Titan, and are met with some startling news – perhaps this voice-over from him is actually delivered here, in this scene?

Steve Rogers, our beloved Captain America, is seen lying on the ground in a place filled with fire and debris, gripping his shield. He’s been knocked down, but we know from the previous trailers that he will get back up at least one more time. Hopefully it’s not his last time.

There’s a blinding flash of blue light (which almost looks like the Bifrost, but is probably the Space Stone) and Thanos himself appears, arriving in this desolate place. “What did that bring you?,” he asks, and then finishes his own statement:

“Back to me.”

Tony, Steve and Thor march side-by-side, slowly, to face him. And the trailer ends.

Oh, so much to discuss, so much to just stare at in horror and wonder. Who’s gonna die? Who will live? Does anybody live? What happens now? Are the Avengers going to face Thanos in battle: sure seems like it. Well, we can’t know until the 26th, but thankfully…

Tickets for Avengers: Endgame are on sale now!

Trailer Rating: 10/10

Avengers: Endgame Trailer 3!

The end of the MCU as we know it is almost upon us, and we have our first full length trailer for the movie that will bring it all crashing down into ruin and despair. Blood will be shed, heroes will die, Natasha Romanoff’s hair will change color again. Very few of our questions about this movie have been answered by this tantalizing teaser, which is the way I like it: honestly, I think at this point we don’t even need another trailer for Avengers: Endgame – the less we know, the more we are excited to find out.

So here it is! The trailer is so atmospheric, so dark – the opening scenes are black and white flashbacks to previous MCU movies: Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Thor. Voice-over is provided by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). The first new shot in this trailer is at 0:38, and here we see Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) training a girl with a bow and arrow. Fans were quick to jump to the conclusion that this girl was none other than superheroine Kate Bishop, an archer from the comics who ends up taking the name Hawkeye herself. However, it seems more likely she is Hawkeye’s daughter, Lila Barton. Whoever she is, though, I have no doubt that she and the rest of Hawkeye’s family (who can be seen in the background) will be dusted in this scene, and this is where we’ll see the lovable archer’s transformation into the grim, sword-wielding, mohawk-wearing assassin that he is in the very next shot, at 0:43, where we see him meeting Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Here, he is Ronin, one of his darker aliases from the comics. Something to note about this scene is that he and Black Widow hold hands – could we see them get back together? Clearly, there are still some romantic feelings between the two. (And I’m here for it – those two were made for each other, and no one can tell me otherwise).

At 1:12, after a heartbreaking montage of characters from Avengers: Infinity War being turned to dust, we see Black Widow’s new look – her hair has grown out quite a bit, and looks quite good, part red, part blond. The fact that it’s grown so long, though, is reason for us to believe that some time has passed between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Some have speculated there could be a five-year gap between the two movies.

Blink and you’ll miss Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) at 1:14. This poor guy, who was sidelined in Avengers: Infinity War, definitely needs more screentime to make up for that – but so far, we’ve seen very little of him, and no hint of whether he can transform into the Hulk yet.

Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) shows up for the first time in the trailer at 1:18, staring in bewilderment at posters that read MISSING. Last we saw Ant-Man, in Ant-Man And The Wasp, he was trapped inside the Quantum Realm: I believe this is just after he’s escaped, and he’s come back to find half of the world’s population missing – possibly including his own daughter, Cassie Lang: though others speculate that Cassie will be in Endgame, played by Emma Fuhrmann, and will be a superhero in her own right.

At 1:21, we see the Avengers’ Quinjet flying over New York City: interestingly, in the previous teaser we saw NYC looking very dark and lifeless, but here there are city lights shining.

Black Widow and Hawkeye still look pretty close in the next shot: seriously, can these two just GET BACK TOGETHER ALREADY?

Unfortunately, Hawkeye seems to be in danger: we see him running down a tunnel filled with fluorescent red light, running through water – and then suddenly the tunnel is filled with an explosion of fire. I don’t know how he’s going to make it out of that situation, or why he’s even in that situation to begin with, but I’m terrified for him.

1:29 shows us two old friends: Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and War Machine (Don Cheadle). They seem to be gearing up for war. Rocket’s interactions with the other Avengers is something I’m looking forward to – I can only imagine how serious characters like Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Black Widow will deal with him.

Speaking of Steve, he looks pretty surprised to see Hawkeye in the next shot: granted, I would be too, if I saw someone with that haircut. I’m not sure exactly why losing his family would inspire Hawkeye to cut his hair into the ridiculous style, but, I mean, you do you, Clint.

In quick succession, we see Ant-Man at Avengers HQ (looking less than cheery), Thor powering up Stormbreaker, and Nebula (Karen Gillan) charging into a fight with a battle-cry: could she be taking vengeance on her father, Thanos, for what he did to Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in Avengers: Infinity War? I can’t imagine how she’ll take him on, since he’s armed with the Infinity Gauntlet, and she’s got…batons. But she is pretty formidable – though I’m not sure if she could top her incredible entrance in the third act of Infinity War, where she literally drove a spaceship straight into Thanos (which, by the way, didn’t even slow him down: Nebula, you gonna die).

Hawkeye’s back in the tunnel at 1:39, now wielding his bow again – somehow, I can’t imagine he’s facing off against Thanos in this scene (the tunnel doesn’t seem large enough to fit the gigantic purple Titan, first of all), but if not, then who is he up against? There have been rumors circulating for months that Thanos won’t be the main villain in Avengers: Endgame, or that he might even team up with the Avengers against another threat. Could Hawkeye be coming face to face with some greater villain? (And if so, will he make it out alive? Armed with a bow? Yeah, no.)

There’s a scene from the previous teaser of Black Widow target-shooting: though again, when does this scene take place? Here, she has long, fully blond hair.

At 1: 44, we have Steve Rogers, fully geared-up in the Captain America suit, looking very angry about something. Please, let it not be that Tony Stark has just died. I can’t take that kind of pain. I know that somebody has to die, but just…let it be, like, I don’t know, Drax. Oh wait, he’s already dead. Well, just, don’t take Tony Stark or Steve Rogers, please!

This shot of Steve is followed by a clip of a very tiny Ant-Man leaping through a bizarre landscape that seems to be composed of…a pencil, water, and a power-cord? I have no idea where he is, but if I had to bet, I’d guess either of two things: one, most likely to me, is that this is at the beginning of the film, and we’re seeing Ant-Man escaping from the Quantum Realm. Two, less likely I think, but more terrifying, is that this some weird fight sequence where Thanos is wielding the Reality Stone – which, if you remember from Infinity War, had the power to transform bullets into bubbles, among other things. Either way, things don’t look good for Ant-Man.

Finally, the money-shot of the Avengers walking (destination: unknown) in their new Quantum-Realm suits. The suits are fantastic, and look great. Steve is leading them, and behind him are Tony Stark, Black Widow, Nebula, Ant-Man, War Machine, and Hawkeye – I think Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is behind Black Widow too, though it’s kind of hard to tell. They look absolutely great, and this seems to confirm the theory that the Avengers would be going into the Quantum Realm – or back in time – to try and reverse the Snap that wiped out half the population of the universe. Some think they’ll be going back even further than that, to the Battle of New York from the first Avengers, for instance, and this would seem to be backed up by the fact that Steve Rogers is wearing his old Captain America suit in the shot at 1:44.

The title – Avengers: Endgame lights up in brilliant purple, and the screen goes black. Is the trailer over? No, wait, I don’t think so…

Thor is walking towards a woman who has her back turned. She turns to face us – CAROL DANVERS! Yes, Carol Danvers, a.k.a Captain Marvel, (Brie Larson) is here, in Avengers HQ, and, boy, does she look fantastic or what? She stares back at Thor steadily as he extends his hand past her shoulder, testing her reflexes: his axe, Stormbreaker, flies into his hand.

Carol just barely flinches, and glances down at Stormbreaker with some curiosity.

Thor grins. “I like this one”, he says, and the screen goes black.

Just from that one scene, I already know Thor and Carol’s dynamic will be one of the best parts of this movie: Carol’s new wardrobe, also, looks to be pretty snazzy – she looks quite glamorous. I wonder if they’ll be friends, or perhaps…more than friends?

Okay, so April 26th needs to just arrive now, so that I can see this movie. I’ve got a lot of questions, like, why isn’t Thanos shown or even mentioned in the trailer – he also was absent from the second teaser, and only his armor was seen in the first teaser. What is the plan that the Avengers have for bringing back half the population? Will they time travel – where to, or when to? How do Tony and Nebula go from “lost in space” to “wearing fancy new outfits, walking alongside the other Avengers on earth”? What is going on?

And do Hawkeye and Black Widow end up together?

Trailer Rating: 10/10