Avengers: Endgame 3-Hour Runtime A 'High Probability'

Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo reveals there is a "high probability" the final cut of the movie will have a runtime of nearly three hours. Russo directed the film along with his brother and co-director Anthony Russo; Endgame marks their fourth Marvel Cinematic Universe movie after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. In fact, Avengers: Endgame will conclude the story of the MCU thus far and pick up after the cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War. The fourth Avengers movie will resume the stories of the heroes left after Thanos' Decimation and follow their attempts to the set the universe right.

Because it's the biggest event-style movie in a franchise already known for its cinematic events, Avengers: Endgame is arguably the most highly anticipated MCU movie of 2019. As such, fans have been clamoring for any piece of information or insight into the movie. The first Avengers 4 trailer released earlier this month, revealing the title to be Avengers: Endgame. While it might be a few months until any more new footage is unveiled, one of the film's directors is offering a tidbit of information about the length of the final movie.

Speaking to Empire Magazine, Joe Russo revealed there's a very good chance Avengers: Endgame will become the longest MCU film released to date. He said, "There's a high probability that this movie will clock in at around three hours. It's a big movie with a lot of story." This falls in line with what the directors have been saying since the spring, when they revealed Endgame will be longer than Infinity War. And more recently, Russo offered an update on the editing process, saying at the time that Avengers: Endgame was three hours long.

Tony Stark in ship closeup in Avengers Endgame

However, whether the Avengers: Endgame runtime actually winds up being close to three hours remains to be seen. It's not uncommon for assembly cuts of movies to be much longer than the final cuts of those films. It's possible Marvel Studios, or its parent company Disney, might mandate a shorter runtime so it falls into the 2-2.5 hour sweet spot. That said, the Russo brothers have proven themselves with an incredibly successful track record at Marvel. Civil War surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, while Infinity War made over $2 billion in its box office run. It seems fair to say the Russos have earned the right to make the final decision on Endgame's runtime.

Still, how long Avengers: Endgame winds up being remains to be seen. It also has a great deal of expectation to live up to following the success of Infinity War. The third Avengers installment was the MCU's most financially successful movie, delivering a massive superhero crossover that ended on a devastating story beat, with half the heroes wiped out by Thanos. Avengers: Endgame will have to continue that story thread and conclude the character arcs of many of the original Avengers in a compelling manner. It's undoubtedly a big challenge and, according to Russo, the movie needs all three hours to do it. Considering how well loved these characters and this franchise are by fans, there's little doubt moviegoers will sit through a longer movie to see how it all ends. The question, really, is whether the studio will take the risk of releasing a movie that's nearly three hours long. Of course, if any movie could be successful with that long of a runtime, it's Avengers: Endgame.