While Game of Thrones viewers might not get ahold of any new footage ahead of the show’s final season, Marvel fans don’t have to wait any longer: The first trailer for the fourth Avengers film is finally here. The highly anticipated follow-up to Infinity War, due in April, has been—quite understandably, given the apocalyptic circumstances—shrouded in secrecy, to the extent that we didn’t even know what the title was going to be. And though the first trailer is light on action, it’s a solid tone-setter for what should be a more somber affair—while I’m sure Earth’s mightiest heroes won’t be entirely deprived of one-liners, they did just lose half their friends in a friggin’ rapture—as every surviving character reconciles with Thanos’s finger snap. Here are the four biggest takeaways to glean from our first look at new footage.
We’ve Got a Title Now
It’s been a while since the Marvel Cinematic Universe brain trust decided the fourth Avengers movie wouldn’t be called Infinity War: Part 2, and since then, everyone’s been mum on what the follow-up would be titled. Well, here’s our answer, finally:
Avengers: Endgame. It’s solid, to the point—and this does indeed feel like the endgame for this phase of the MCU, as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) prepare to make their presumed exits. Credit where it’s due: Avengers: Endgame is also the title that eagle-eyed Marvel fans were anticipating as far back as June.
And to channel my inner Ringer copy editor for a second, let’s make one other thing clear: The title should be “endgame,” one word, and not “end game.” Endgame, as one word, is defined as “the final stage of a game such as chess or bridge.” That’s definitely what Marvel is going for here. Not to mention the characters say the word “endgame” in the movies, like, all the time.
HAWKEYE BACK
Of course, the most pressing question for Marvel fans after the events of Infinity War: Where the hell was Hawkeye? In truth, Jeremy Renner was probably too busy breaking his arms playing a big game of tag with Ed Helms, Hannibal Buress, and Jon Hamm, but his presence was sorely missed. The arrows wouldn’t have made a difference against Thanos, who’d have brushed them off like toothpicks, but every team of superheroes needs its glue guy. Hawkeye has proved over the years to be the Andre Iguodala of the Avengers.
The good news: The new trailer reveals that Hawkeye survived Thanos’s rapture. The confusing news: He’s apparently been trapped on the set of Blade Runner 2049, and forced to fend for himself.
I did not expect to see a Neo-Noir Ronin Hawkeye—with a swanky sword, not a crossbow!—daring Black Widow to desire his mopey face in the pouring rain. It’s a lot to process! But I think I’m a fan.
Captain America Shaved; Cries
When you lose half of your friends because a giant purple thumb snapped his meaty fingers to go live on a peaceful planet where he can take naps all day and play in space-opium fields, you break out the Gillette. Steve Rogers has no beard, and now he’s crying.
So are we—bring back the beard.
Ant-Man Is Out of the Quantum Realm
The last we saw of Scott Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp, the dude had been trapped inside the Quantum Realm because all his buddies back on Earth got Thanos’d (new verb). It is an existentially terrifying scenario to be in: stuck in a microverse, smaller than an atom, with no escape and removed from the constructs of space and time. Thankfully, Scott got out—somehow.
Could this be Captain Marvel’s doing? Brie Larson’s hero is suspiciously absent from the trailer—even though the Infinity War end-credits scene makes it clear that Nick Fury pinged her before he, too, was Thanos’d. This is probably to derive a bit more intrigue ahead of Avengers: Endgame’s release, since it’s actually preceded by Captain Marvel, which comes out in March.
In any case, Ant-Man could be a sneaky helpful hero to have against Thanos: The Quantum Realm could perhaps be an X factor in reversing Thanos’s rapture, plus Ant-Man could potentially evade the big guy’s attacks by going super small. Most importantly, in a movie that appears to be fairly melodramatic, it’ll be nice to have Paul Rudd’s charismatic Scott cracking a few jokes—even if he’s without his best bud (and Ant-Man franchise MVP) Luis.
