Major SPOILERS for Captain Marvel ahead.

The Captain Marvel after-credits scene proves the early Avengers: Endgame trailers lied - here's what it means for the upcoming movie. Marvel Studios kicked off 2019 strong, with the release of their first female-fronted solo film, Captain Marvel. It also marks the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie co-directed by a woman, with Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck at the helm. With positive reviews of Captain Marvel and the movie dominating its opening weekend at the box office, it's safe to say the studio is off to a good start already this year. And Marvel Studios will follow up Captain Marvel with their biggest event film yet, Avengers: Endgame.

The fourth Avengers movie picks up after the cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War, which saw half the universe wiped out by Thanos' snap. The movie will also wrap up Phase 3 of the MCU and conclude the story the franchise has been telling for a decade. As a result, expectations are understandably high. Those expectations have been even more elevated by the Avengers: Endgame teaser trailer, which revealed the very first footage from the movie. Marvel additionally released an Avengers: Endgame Super Bowl TV spot that included even more footage. Most recently, Marvel surprise unveiled the full Avengers: Endgame trailer, which proved that the early teasers were hiding something - or, rather, someone.

Related: Avengers: Endgame Trailer 2 Breakdown

Based on the Captain Marvel post-credits scene, we know Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) arrives on Earth before the events of Avengers: Endgame. She shows up at the Avengers Compound and confronts Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) about where Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is. The scene proves that the early Avengers: Endgame trailers were lying by omission about Captain Marvel, who finally appeared in the latest trailer. Now, we break down just what the Avengers: Endgame trailers have been lying about and what it means for the movie.

Marvel Trailers Always Lie

The Avengers running towards the camera in an Infinity War trailer shot.

Marvel Studios trailers lying about their respective movies isn't a new practice. Marvel has routinely used trailers to mislead viewers about what to expect from their films, going all the way back to Phase 1 and The Avengers. That film's trailer used footage from the final battle to distract from The Avengers actually being about the superheroes taking time to trust each other and form the team they eventually become. Further, the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailers used footage from a dream sequence - particularly Captain America's broken shield - to inspire a sense of doom among fans.

Most recently, fans were tricked by the Avengers: Infinity War trailers, which featured a hero shot of many characters running at the camera through a forest. But after seeing the movie, fans figured out that shot never actually appears in Infinity War. Turns out, that particular shot was filmed specifically for the Infinity War trailers. Though fans may have been disappointed the movie didn't include that specific scene, there were plenty of other action shots in the movie - even if none united the heroes in the same way.

Ultimately, Marvel must walk a difficult line between selling their movies and not spoiling the films. To do this, the studio sometimes bends the truth a little in order to craft their movie trailers. And with Avengers: Endgame being the most highly anticipated, and the most secretive Marvel Studios project yet, it's safe to assume some, if not all of its trailers are lying.

Suspected Avengers: Endgame Trailer Lies

Scott Lang on camera closer in Avengers Endgame

So far, the Avengers: Endgame trailers have teased the film without giving too much away. The teasers have all featured characters fans know survived Thanos' snap, an event called the Decimation. But so far, it's unclear how long after the Decimation Avengers: Endgame is set. Fans have speculated there will be a time jump between Avengers 3 and 4. At the very least, it will take Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) some time to get to Earth. The latest trailer seemed to confirm a time jump in Avengers: Endgame thanks to the changing hair styles of Black Widow, but early trailers hid her hair as a means of misdirecting fans.

Related: Avengers: Endgame Trailer Breakdown & Story Reveals

Further, the trailers have hidden what role Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) plays in Avengers: Endgame. The first teaser trailer featured Scott showing up on the cameras outside the Avengers Compound and it appears to be after he escapes the Quantum Realm, where he was stuck in the Ant-Man and the Wasp post-credits scene. The latest trailer sees Ant-Man teaming up with the Avengers in Endgame, but the trailers have hidden when exactly that happens and why he's got a new white suit along with the other Avengers - possibly to hide how key the Quantum Realm is to Avengers: Endgame.

Another instance of the Endgame footage misdirecting fans may be in certain shots where it seems someone is missing. In the Super Bowl spot, there's a scene where Nat, Steve, Bruce and Rhodey are on the lawn of the Avengers Compound and there's a gap between Bruce and Rhodey that fans suspect is a character Marvel removed from the teaser. Fans speculated it could be Scott Lang, but it could just as easily be another hero altogether. And after Captain Marvel, we may know which hero it is.

Page 2 of 2: Captain Marvel Hidden From Endgame Trailers & Other Secrets

Avengers Endgame Trailer Shot Captain Marvel

Why Captain Marvel Was Hidden From Early Avengers: Endgame Trailers

In the Captain Marvel post-credits scene, Carol returns to Earth some time after the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Because of the Infinity War post-credits scene, we know she was called to Earth by Nick Fury using the pager she upgraded with Kree tech. It's unclear how long it took Carol to get back, but since the surviving Avengers discuss using backup power to keep the pager on, we know it's been a few days at least. Further, we can presume Captain Marvel arrives before Avengers: Endgame because Steve Rogers is still sporting a beard, which he had in Infinity War but not in the early Endgame trailers.

So from this one scene, we can gather that Captain Marvel is already on Earth at the start of Avengers: Endgame, and she's already met the rest of the surviving superheroes. She's since appeared in one scene of footage thanks to latest Endgame trailer, and it appears to be early on in the film. However, it's clear Marvel Studios was hiding Captain Marvel from the early trailers so as not to spoil her solo film's post-credits scene. Whether or not that means the studio simply edited around Carol, it's also probable they removed her from scenes entirely.

Related: Avengers: Endgame Super Bowl TV Spot Breakdown

As previously stated, there's a gap in one group shot from the Super Bowl TV spot that may actually include Carol among the other Avengers, looking up at the sky above the Avengers Compound. Further, there's a group shot in the teaser trailer that features a line of heroes walking through a hanger, backlit by the sun. It's possible she's in this scene as well, but was removed from it for the trailers to hide her appearance on Earth. Or, it's possible this entire scene was edited (more on that in a moment). Ultimately, we know Captain Marvel will be in Avengers: Endgame, likely from the very start of the movie, but the film's early trailers kept her completely hidden in order to not spoiler Captain Marvel. However, she's not the only secret the Avengers: Endgame trailers were keeping.

What Other Secrets Have Endgame Trailers Hidden

Avengers Endgame Trailer Team Shot

In the time following each Avengers: Endgame teaser, fans pored over the new footage looking for any secret hidden within the frames. One such secret may be in that same hangar scene previously mentioned. The version included in the teaser trailer is from afar and little can be gleaned from it. Fans did manage to spot Ronin in this Avengers: Endgame trailer shot, partially obscured by Rhodey. However, the latest Endgame trailer reveals the version of this scene from the teaser trailer was lying and obscured the Avengers' new white suits - unless, for whatever reason, there's two similar scenes in the movie (but that seems incredibly unlikely). Now we know this scene includes Cap, Nebula, Ant-Man, Rhodey, Tony and Nat - but because of the way it's edited, it could include additional characters who were kept out. Thor, Hulk and Captain Marvel are the obvious omissions.

Another secret hidden by the early trailers that an Avengers: Endgame footage description and the latest trailer confirmed is Tony and Nebula do make it back to Earth at some point. The Endgame teaser trailer made it seem as though Tony might die before getting back to Earth to reunite with the rest of the Avengers, but that's another misdirection. The latest trailer confirmed both Tony and Nebula make it back, since they appear in the hangar scene. Previous trailers, though, kept their return a secret and misdirected fans to believe they might never make it to Earth.

Lastly, the lack of Bruce Banner in the trailers is peculiar. He doesn't appear in group hangar scene, nor was he included in the Avengers: Endgame footage that screened for Disney shareholders in early March. It's possible the trailer is hiding him to prevent spoiling fans. Last we saw of Bruce and Hulk in Infinity War, he had trouble getting the Hulk to come out, but toys and merchandise for Endgame suggest he will reemerge in the film. While toys aren't necessarily accurate to a film's story, the lack of Bruce in the Endgame trailer suggests Hulk will come into play at some point and may even receive his own white suit alongside his fellow Avengers.

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Ultimately, fans knew from the jump that the Avengers: Endgame trailers were likely to lie. Based on the studio's history of using misdirection to refrain from spoiling certain aspects of their films, their most secretive project yet was bound to do something similar. Now that Captain Marvel is out, the Avengers: Endgame trailers have stopped lying about her role in the movie - but are probably still lying about other aspects of the film. Though Captain Marvel may have exposed some of the early Avengers: Endgame trailers' lies, fans won't know the full extent until the movie hits theaters.

Next: How Captain Marvel Connects To Avengers: Endgame

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