With just over a month left before the movie hits theaters, Disney has released what is likely the final full trailer for Avengers: Endgame, the fourth and final Avengers film and the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that kicked off with 2008’s surprise hit Iron Man.
While there are plenty of moments in the trailer that have already resulted in copious speculation online, there are a few elements that stand out as being even more notable or interesting that who that girl Hawkeye is training might be, whether it’s the Quantum Realm Ant-Man is jumping around in and why the whole team is wearing armored space suits at the end.
No, Really, This Is The End This Time
For all the commentary that’s been generated by the new footage in the trailer, a fair amount of the 2:27 runtime is devoted to scenes pulled from earlier movies, especially the first Iron Man, Captain America and Thor films. That, along with the dialogue from Tony Stark about how he was hoping to pull off one last surprise, sells this as the final chapter in the first block of MCU movies, the end of the road for audiences have been on a decade-plus ride to date.
That’s an interesting approach considering the entirety of the campaign for last year’s Avengers: Infinity War was centered around how *it* was the final chapter in the first block of MCU movies, the end of the road for audiences that had been on a decade-long ride. It’s not likely Disney is overly worried about disgruntled fans protesting because they feel duped by a marketing push that included class photos and retrospective featurettes. The marketing for Endgame hasn’t included any of that kind of material, despite it more accurately appearing to be the finale of the series.
Oh, There’s Carol
Everyone knew Captain Marvel was going to be in Endgame, but she was absent from the first trailer, released back in December. At that time the marketing of her solo movie, starring Brie Larson, was in full swing. With that movie now in theaters – and a massive hit – it was finally time for the character to join the other Avengers as the heroes search for a way to undo the cataclysm brought about by Thanos when he snapped his fingers.
Still, all we see is her standing alongside Thor. She’s not in costume and has no action other than to not flinch when the demigod summons his hammer and she doesn’t even flinch, an accomplishment that proves her worthiness to the God of Thunder. As some have pointed out, she’s sporting a more glam look than she does in her own movie but why that might be (other than the whims of a different director and stylist) is unclear.
What’s Black, White and Red All Over? These Flashbacks
There’s likely some symbolism and thematic rationale for the footage from previous movies being presented in black and white with hints of red being highlighted on character’s costumes and uniforms, but what that might be isn’t readily apparent. It may simply be that this was an aesthetic chosen simply for the stark contrast it offers.
Whatever the reason, it’s used here to mark what audiences have seen before as being different from what they’re seeing for the first time. Again, the trailer devotes a full 40 seconds – about a quarter of its length – to scenes from previous movies as the marketing team hopes to make the audience completely understand what they’re seeing here is the next and last step. If this were a “Friends” episode (which isn’t too much of a stretch given the episodic nature of the MCU) it would be titled “The One That Ties It All Together.”
Emo Haircut Hawkeye
It can’t go without saying that Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) sports an odd number of hairstyles in the trailer and presumably the movie as a whole.
The Tussled Avenger
Someone’s grandmother just ruined a perfectly good hair day.
The Dadcore Avenger
A good respectable haircut for when you have to take the car to Jiffy Lube in the afternoon.
The Red Hot Chili Pepper Avenger
For when you’ve got to give it away, give it away, give it away now.
Cinematic Slant 