After months of waiting and endless speculation, the trailer for the fourth Avengers movie
has finally arrived.
For one thing, the the trailer reveals the title for the feature as Avengers: Endgame,
confirming previously leaked info indicating that that might be the case.
But beyond that, there's a world of mystery to this footage, showing us our first official
glimpse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-Thanos' decimation.
You've already watched and rewatched this thing about a thousand times, so let's break
down some of the small details you might have missed in the trailer for Avengers: Endgame.
Thanos - now retired to his quiet life as a big purple space farmer - has put up his
armor for good as an incredibly imposing scarecrow.
You can actually see the scarecrow in Avengers: Infinity War, in the lower right corner of
the frame during the movie's ending sequence of Thanos looking over his crops toward the
shining sun on some unknown world.
But this image has some extra significance you might not be aware of.
In the six-issue Infinity Gauntlet comic book series - which served as the inspiration for
the two-part Infinity War story - the scarecrow is a striking image from the final issue.
In the comic, the scarecrow appears to be Thanos' only company.
When the heroes come upon it, they regard it as "an empty shell of what was", which
may imply some interesting twists in store for the final showdown between the Avengers
and Thanos.
As for Thanos himself, he's only seen briefly in the trailer, running his hand over some
plantlife with his burnt-up Infinity Gauntlet.
Does he have the strength for a second round?
We'll see — after all:
"We're in the endgame now."
After sitting out the events of Infinity War, Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton has returned
for the fourth Avengers adventure - and something is very different about him.
He's got a new haircut, a new samurai-inspired outfit, and he seems to be stomping the streets
of Japan, hunting down some sharp-dressed victims and leaving them dead in the street
for some unknown end.
You alright, Clint?
This is more than just a costume change - it's a whole new identity, one that Natasha seems
somewhat shocked to see.
Rumors have been swirling about the meaning of Clint's absence from Infinity War since
before the movie even came out.
The prevailing theory has been that Barton sheds his old identity - and maybe even a
little bit of his morality - when his entire family presumably gets dusted at the end of
Infinity War.
We didn't see it go down on screen, so we don't know for sure if that that's what happened
- but c'mon.
Do you think Clint is booking flights to Japan to go stab people if he's got a wife and kids
at home?
In a bittersweet twist, it looks as though Tony Stark has commandeered the newest vessel
of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the ​Benatar​, which took the place of the ​Milano​ after
its destruction in ​Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2​.
Of course, not all is as bleak as it first appears.
For one, Tony does not seem to be alone on this sad, doomed trip across the universe.
It looks like Nebula is there with him, hitching a ride after her ship was destroyed during
her showdown with Thanos on Titan.
Her blue fingers can be seen on someone's shoulder - probably Tony's.
Considering she's more robot than mortal being at this point thanks to Thanos' tinkering,
it's possible that the lack of oxygen and food on the ship isn't as big a deal to her
as it is to Tony.
For months and months, rumors have swirled about the Avengers going back in time to undo
the destruction Thanos has caused, a theory supported by leaks indicating that the production
was rebuilding sets from older movies.
It's hard to think of any other reason why Cap would be looking at a photo of Peggy with
such significance, unless he was about to go and find her for some reason.
Other set leaks have indicated​ that the movie may have built a new set for Camp Lehigh,
the boot camp in Captain America: The First Avenger where a pre-super serum Steve Rogers
first proved his worth.
The base, located in New Jersey, was also visited in the modern era in ​Captain America:
The Winter Soldier​ - and more importantly, it was destroyed​.
So if the movie is taking us to Camp Lehigh as the leaks suggest, then it's probably not
going to be in the present day.
And that would help explain Cap going back to his outfit from the Winter Soldier - sort
of like when Star Trek characters have to go back in time and try their best to blend
in so as not to screw up the timestream:
"Uh-oh."
"Wow!"
It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but ​​the Avengers: Endgame ​trailer revealed
that Shuri, the woman who we thought might be Wakanda's last hope, is among the missing.
During the sequence of Bruce Banner looking at the Avengers' list of missing people, the
image of Letitia Wright's Shuri can briefly be seen among the presumed dead.
With this, we're meant to believe that she dies offscreen, snapped into dust just like
her brother.
While the team's intelligence is wrong about Ant-Man, who is indeed missing but not dead,
we have no reason to believe that Shuri made it out alive.
But while we're on the subject of Ant-Man...
Clint Barton isn't the only Avenger making a triumphant return.
Now that most of the heavy-hitters are dead and dusted, it's time to welcome Scott Lang
to the party.
"Welcome to the party, pal!"
While Natasha and Steve are moping around Avengers HQ, they get a video message from
Ant-Man, who seems to be at the gates of the facility.
"Can you buzz me in?"
That's exciting enough - but what's more exciting is the gear that Scott brought with him.
"sorry"
"My bad."
Last time we saw Ant-Man's Ant-Van, it had been turned into a makeshift laboratory, kitted
out with a portal to the Quantum Realm.
In the post-credits sequence of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scott entered the Quantum Realm
and appeared to be stuck there, with his partners being dusted before they could pull him back.
Scott sure looked doomed - so what gives?
Right before Scott jumped into the Quantum Realm, he got this warning from the original
Wasp:
"And don't get sucked into a time vortex.
We won't be able to save you."
It seems pretty possible that Scott used a vortex to exit the Realm, depositing himself
in the future - and now he's brought the time travel tech to Avengers HQ.
Who would have thought Ant-Man would be so important when it came time to save the world?
Probably this guy did: