It was inevitable. “Avengers: Endgame” is more than just the sequel to 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” It is not just the conclusion to the…
It was inevitable. “Avengers: Endgame” is more than just the sequel to 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” It is not just the conclusion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that started in 2008 with “Iron Man” and now stretched to 21 films over more than a decade, it’s not even the conclusion the Marvel Comics saga that began with 1961’s “Fantastic Four” # 1; it is the capstone to the Timely Comics era that began with 1939’s “Marvel Comics” # 1.
The critical acclaim and the blazing box office of the MCU films transformed “Endgame” into a cultural requirement: People feel passionately that they must watch it in order to participate in societal discourse. To miss it is to be utterly excluded.
So the challenge for directors Joe and Anthony Russo is to play a game of expectations. They must meet audience expectations and yet subvert the selfsame expectations in order to fulfill the massive promise of “Endgame.” Add to that the fact that “Endgame” has become the single most anticipated film of all time. People have been lining up, running into cinemas, taking selfies in the seats while theaters have begun screening “Endgame” round the clock.
