It’s exactly four weeks now until the release of Avengers: Endgame in North America, and even less before the film opens in certain other territories. And as the pic’s long-awaited arrival looms closer, you can expect the internet to become an increasingly hazardous place for any spoiler-conscious fan to explore.
Last year, directors Anthony and Joe Russo warned filmgoers shortly before the release of Avengers: Infinity War not to share or expose themselves to spoilers. And with the sequel’s release just around the corner, Joe Russo has now offered the same advice in an interview with Box Office Pro:
“At a certain point, I’m sure we’ll write another letter this year that asks everyone to stay off the internet. I think this one has even more spoilers than the last one. This is a culture that wants everything now, and it’s getting worse. The world is connected via social media, and information travels within seconds. If you’ve been following along with this narrative for 10 years, you’re going to want to protect yourself. It’s best to go in clean. I encourage people to go opening weekend because I’m sure everything is going to hit the internet the moment the movie hits the screen.”
Russo went on to recall his first time watching The Empire Strikes Back, and how the experience was made more emotional by the fact that he knew very little about the film going in:
“There’s a culture that monetizes secrets around these films—an online culture, a media culture. That’s fair, but it’s also fair for the filmmaker to protect the story. When I was 11 years old, I went to see The Empire Strikes Back, having seen Star Wars a bunch of times with my uncle. I was at the theater from 11 until 10 at night watching Empire over and over again because I knew nothing about what was going to happen in the film beyond what I’d seen in a trailer in front of a movie once or twice. Information was so much more limited. It was so shocking to me what happened that I was emotional watching it. That’s the feeling that my brother and I are trying to replicate for other kids who want to be surprised.
These days, however, technology has made it a lot easier for fans to scrutinize trailer footage and promotional material for clues and share these spoilers for the world to see. Joe Russo therefore argues that it’s a necessity to be careful about what they reveal:
“It’s why we limit the amount of information in trailers. That’s why we obfuscate it. Audiences are so predictive. Everyone has a PhD in content now, and it’s constant. The smallest clue in a trailer can ruin a movie.”
While Marvel and the Russo Brothers have been doing a pretty good job at keeping plot details under wraps, the internet still has a large body of information about next month’s release for any curious fan to look up. What’s more, as the studio ramps up its promotion and the cast does more and more press, you can expect a few more details to emerge in the coming weeks. Needless to say, anyone looking to go into Avengers: Endgame completely cold is in for a rough period, but all will be revealed when the film hits theaters on April 26th.