The Russo Brothers Considered Not Marketing Avengers: Endgame Whatsoever

Avengers: Endgame represents a cinematic saga 11 years in the making.

It is, in essence, the star-studded conclusion to Marvel’s Phase 3, and a superhero blockbuster like no other. We say that because of the rock-solid foundations on which Endgame is built, stretching all the way back to Jon Favreau’s original Iron Man movie in 2008. Oh, how far we’ve come. It seems like a thousand years ago…

But with so much backstory already established, not to mention the devastating finale of Infinity War, one could argue that Avengers: Endgame is so big that it didn’t even need a single trailer – audiences will still flock to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes regardless of promotion or marketing.

Turns out that was almost a reality. Asked straight-up if they considered a radio-silence approach, Joe Russo told Empire Magazine (h/t ComicBookMovie) the following:

We did. We talked about all scales of marketing. The thing that’s most important to us is that we preserve the surprise of the narrative. When I was a kid and saw The Empire Strikes Back at 11am on the day it opened, and sat there until 10pm watching it back to back to back, it so profoundly moved me because I didn’t know a damn thing about the story I was going to watch. We’re trying to replicate that experience.

On paper, it’s a tantalizing proposition – no modern blockbuster has ever risked a blackout approach, but Avengers: Endgame is perhaps the perfect candidate, given its massive install base and 11-year history. Still, we imagine the corporate suits at Disney wouldn’t be too pleased if their 2019 event movie arrived with little fanfare.

Avengers: Endgame reaches theaters worldwide on April 26th and will signal the final chapter of the so-called Infinity Saga. Next up? Phase 4, beginning with the star-studded Spider-Man: Far From Home this summer.