Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the direct sequel to Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin. In the film, the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies attempt to reverse Thanos's actions in Infinity War, which erased half of all life in the universe.
The film was announced in October 2014 as Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2, but Marvel Studios later removed this title. The Russo brothers joined as directors in April 2015, with Markus and McFeely signing on to write the script a month later. It is a conclusion to the story of the MCU up to that point, ending several main characters' story arcs. The plot revisits moments from earlier films, bringing back actors and settings from throughout the franchise. Filming began in August 2017 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, shooting back-to-back with Infinity War, and ended in January 2018. Additional filming took place in the Metro and downtown Atlanta areas, New York state, Scotland, and England. The official title was announced in December 2018. With an estimated budget range of $356–400million, Endgame is one of the most expensive films ever produced.
Avengers: Endgame premiered at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 22, 2019, and was released in the United States on April 26 as part of Phase Three of the MCU. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its direction, acting, musical score, action scenes, visual effects, and emotional weight, with critics lauding its culmination of the 22-film story. It grossed $2.79 billion worldwide during its initial theatrical run, surpassing Infinity War entire theatrical run in eleven days, setting several box-office records and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time between 2019 and 2021, overtaking and later surpassed by Avatar (2009). Endgame was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 92nd Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. An extended version, subtitled Encore, was released in theaters in September 2026 in anticipation of the film's two sequels, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which are respectively scheduled for release in December 2026 and 2027. The box office haul from Encore helped the film to once again become the highest-grossing film of all time.
Plot
In 2018, 23 days after Thanos erased half of all life in the universe, Carol Danvers rescues Tony Stark and Nebula from deep space. They reunite with the remaining Avengers—Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and James Rhodes—and Rocket on Earth. Finding Thanos on an uninhabited planet, they plan to use the Infinity Stones to reverse his actions but learn that Thanos has destroyed them. Enraged, Thor decapitates Thanos.
Five years later, Scott Lang escapes from the Quantum Realm. Reaching the Avengers Compound, he informs Rogers and Romanoff that he experienced only five hours while trapped. Theorizing that the Quantum Realm allows time travel, they ask a reluctant Stark to help them retrieve the Stones from the past to reverse Thanos's present actions. Stark, Rocket, and Banner, who has merged his intelligence with the Hulk's strength, build a time machine. Banner theorizes that altering the past will not affect the present, since any changes will create alternate realities. Banner and Rocket travel to Norway, where they visit the Asgardian refugee settlement of New Asgard and recruit an overweight, despondent Thor. In Tokyo, Romanoff recruits Clint Barton, who became a vigilante after his family was erased.
Banner, Lang, Rogers, and Stark time-travel to New York City during Loki's attack in 2012. At the Sanctum Sanctorum, Banner convinces the Ancient One to give him the Time Stone after promising to return the Infinity Stones to their proper points in time. At Stark Tower, Rogers retrieves the Mind Stone from Hydra sleeper agents, but Stark and Lang's attempt to steal the Space Stone fails, allowing 2012-Loki to escape with it. Rogers and Stark travel to Camp Lehigh in 1970, where Stark obtains an earlier version of the Space Stone and encounters his father, Howard. Rogers steals Pym Particles from Hank Pym to return to the present, and sees his lost love, Peggy Carter.
Rocket and Thor travel to Asgard in 2013. Rocket extracts the Reality Stone from Jane Foster, while Thor is encouraged by his mother, Frigga, and retrieves his old hammer, Mjolnir. Barton, Romanoff, Nebula, and Rhodes travel to 2014. Nebula and Rhodes go to Morag and steal the Power Stone before Peter Quill can, while Barton and Romanoff travel to Vormir. The Soul Stone's keeper, Red Skull, says that it can be acquired only by sacrificing a loved one. Romanoff sacrifices herself, allowing Barton to get the Stone. Rhodes and Nebula attempt to return to their own time, but Nebula is incapacitated when her cybernetic implants link with her past self, allowing 2014-Thanos to learn about his future self's success and the Avengers' attempt to undo it. 2014-Thanos captures Nebula and sends 2014-Nebula forward in time to prepare for his arrival.
Reuniting in the present, the Avengers place the Stones in a gauntlet that Stark, Banner, and Rocket have built. Banner, who has the most resistance to radiation, uses the gauntlet to undo Thanos's disintegrations. Meanwhile, 2014-Nebula (impersonating her future self) uses the time machine to transport 2014-Thanos and his warship to the present, where he destroys the Avengers Compound. Present-day Nebula convinces 2014-Gamora to betray Thanos, but is unable to convince 2014-Nebula and kills her. Thanos overpowers Stark, Thor, and a Mjolnir-wielding Rogers. He summons his army to retrieve the Stones, intent on using them to destroy the universe and create a new one. A restored Stephen Strange arrives with other sorcerers, the restored Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Ravagers, and the armies of Wakanda and Asgard to fight Thanos's army. Danvers also arrives and destroys Thanos's warship, but Thanos overpowers her and seizes the gauntlet. Stark steals the Stones and uses them to disintegrate Thanos and his army, sacrificing himself.
After Stark's funeral, Thor appoints Valkyrie as the new king of New Asgard and joins the Guardians. Rogers returns the Stones and Mjolnir to their proper timelines and remains in the past to live with Carter. In the present, an elderly Rogers passes his shield to Sam Wilson.
Cast
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man:The benefactor of the Avengers who describes himself as a "genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist" with electromechanical suits of armor he made. According to directors Joe and Anthony Russo, Downey was the only actor to receive the entire screenplay for the film. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely knew that Stark's death was inevitable as a "[move] to selflessness" and as an end to the "chapter" Stark began. They felt that his death was earned after granting him "the perfect retirement life ... That's the life he's been striving for [...] They got married, they had a kid, it was great. It's a good death. It doesn't feel like a tragedy. It feels like a heroic, finished life." Joe Russo said that Stark "always knew he was going to die because he could never reconcile that notion in himself of not protecting the universe," and was the most defiant of the Avengers: "Stark is the most formidable of all of them [...] because of his heart." The Russos sought Downey's approval for Stark's arc, which they had developed since Captain America: Civil War (2016). Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:The leader of the Avengers, World War II veteran and former fugitive, he was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum and frozen in suspended animation before waking up in the modern world. Markus described Rogers as someone who is "moving toward some sort of enlightened self-interest". McFeely knew that Rogers "was going to get his dance" that he promised Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). He initially planned to complete Rogers's story arc by killing him off, given the character's long life for his occupation, before deciding to have Rogers bequeath his shield to Sam Wilson. Patrick Gorman provided an on-set reference for an elderly Steve Rogers. Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk:An Avenger and genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or agitated. Banner balances his two sides with gamma experimentation in this film, enabling him to combine his intelligence with the Hulk's strength and physical stature based on his "Professor Hulk" comic-book identity. Compared to other heroes who were demotivated by their loss to Thanos, Banner is the only character to remain hopeful; according to Anthony Russo, "Banner is the sole character who is actually forging into a bright new future, trying to build something totally new and find something completely new [...] Banner is the one who is most heroic in a sense that he maintains his will to keep trying." This concludes a character arc that was established in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and continued in Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Chris Hemsworth as Thor:An Avenger and the king of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. Thor now wields a mystical axe known as Stormbreaker after the destruction of his hammer, Mjolnir, in Thor: Ragnarok. In the film, Thor has become an overweight, drunken ruler of Asgard's refugees in Tønsberg, Norway. Hemsworth said about this drastic character change, "I just had an opinion. I wanted to do something different this time. Each film I've wanted to, in particular, the last couple, and they were on board," and added, "We shot for many hours and days and discussed how far could we push (Thor) and what we could do different." According to Anthony Russo, "Even though there's a lot of fun to be had in the movie with his physical condition, it's not a gag. It's a manifestation of where he is on a character level, and we think it's one of the most relatable aspects of him. I mean, it's a very common sort of response to depression and pain." Thor's story was Russo's favorite arc: "Part of Chris' magic as a comedic actor is his dedication to the depth of the character on a very earnest level [...] It's so devious and subversive when comedy is coming from a place of complete commitment and emotional complexity." Hemsworth underwent around three hours of hair and makeup work for the transformation, which also required him to wear a large silicone prosthetic suit; he called himself "Lebowski Thor" on set. Thor was initially supposed to revert to his "old chiseled self" in the middle of Endgame, but Hemsworth wanted to retain Thor's new physique.