Avengers: Endgame's Title Was Decided Before Filming Began

Kevin Feige has confirmed that the Avengers: Endgame title was in place before filming began. Last year's Avengers: Infinity War marked the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first decade on the big screen, finally introducing Thanos as an arch-villain after his post-credits cameo in the first Avengers movie. However, many fans left theaters in a state of shock after the conclusion to Infinity War saw Thanos successfully wipe out half of the universe, including heroes such as Spider-Man, Black Panther and Doctor Strange, and in the wake of such a monumental cliffhanger, anticipation for the 2019 follow-up sky-rocketed.

Marvel Studios is notoriously secretive about their future movies but, even by those high standards, details surrounding Avengers 4 have been scarce, and it was only recently that the project's final title was revealed. When first announced, Avengers 3 and 4 were simply billed as Infinity War Part I and II but this idea was ultimately dropped. When there was still no replacement title for Part II announced after Infinity War's release, fans began to speculate wildly and directing duo, the Russo brothers, played into this with a cryptic social media puzzle. Titles such as Annihilation and Forever were mooted, but in a trailer released last December, the film was announced under the name Avengers: Endgame.

Due to the delay in confirming the title, there was some suggestion that Marvel Studios might have settled on the Endgame tag late in production, however Kevin Feige, chief overlord of the MCU, has now revealed this not to be the case. Speaking with MTV at the Golden Globe awards last night, Feige claimed:

"It [the Endgame title] was in place before we started developing the movie. Or just as we were developing it, yes. So Doctor Strange says that line because we knew it was the title."

The Doctor Strange line Feige is referring to can be found towards the end of Infinity War, when Strange ominously tells Tony Stark "we're in the endgame now" shortly before being dusted by Thanos' snap. The fact that Marvel Studios had the Endgame title in place before the filming of the scene is perhaps evidence of the forward-thinking and long-term planning that has gone into the MCU and separates the franchise from other shared movie universes.

Of course, it's standard practice in Hollywood for a movie to have its title in place before filming and, in that respect, Feige's claim isn't particularly shocking. However, it's also highly unusual for a film's title to be announced only a few months prior to its release, as was the case with Avengers: Endgame. If, as Feige states, the title was decided upon well in advance, then there must have been another reason for Marvel Studios to delay its reveal.

Prior to the trailer release, some speculated that the Avengers 4 title might have been withheld because it hinted at the outcome of Infinity War and would spoil the movie for those who hadn't seen it in theaters, however Endgame is a vague enough name so as to avoid such problems. Therefore, perhaps the title delay is simply a clever marketing tactic on Marvel's part. As previously mentioned, there is an intense secrecy surrounding the movie and last month's trailer was noticeably light on plot details. Perhaps by creating buzz and speculation simply around its title, Marvel have compensated for the fact that they can't market Avengers: Endgame by releasing any key story points and are also unable to include dusted characters in the film's promotion.