Photo courtesy of IGN.
When “Iron Man” came out in 2008, nobody had any clue that it would be the first step into the richest Hollywood franchise ever. According to Forbes, across 21 films up to this point, the movies have grossed a combined $18.5 billion. It doesn’t matter if the action is taking place in Queens, New York or on the fictional planet of Asgard; fans flock to see these films.
What makes “Avengers: Endgame” so special is that the film serves as a culmination of all 21 previous installments. Some are more connected than others, but all movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) exist in the same world. For example, something that happens in has “Doctor Strange” has a direct impact on the events in “Thor: Ragnorak.” The finality of 21- movie plotline is why fans like sophomore Keith LaFeir are so eager to see the film.
“I am excited [to see the movie] because I grew, in my childhood, watching every movie,” he said. “This is the accumulation of all 21 movies so I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.”
First-year student Bailey VanderVeen shared similar thoughts.
“I started watching these films at a young age, so it’ll be exciting to see where we end up at the end of this thing,” she said. “I need this film to blow me away, and my expectations are that it’ll do just that.”
They aren’t the only superfans who are dying for the movie to be released. According to Variety, when the movie’s first trailer dropped last December, it set an all-time record for most views in a 24-hour time period. The 289 million views were almost 60 million more views than the previous record, which was fittingly, “Avenger: Infinity War.”
LaFeir is waiting until after the semester ends so that he can go see the film for the first time with his father. He said that they have watched every movie together, but did say he would also be seeing this movie more than one time.
While it’s not known the specific time, the film picks off after the events of “Avengers: Infinity War.” In that film, Thanos collected all six Infinity Stones, and with the snap of his finger, erased half of the population in the entire universe. The villain is perhaps the greatest one seen so far in the MCU, and VanderVeen gave a glimpse as to why that is.
“The reason Thanos is arguably the greatest villain in the MCU is not only his sheer power because of the Infinity Stones but he addresses humanity,” she said. “He’s a little bit relatable in the sense of trying to reason for himself with people about his goals and motives.”
As for predictions on how the film could play out, LaFeir said that he thinks everybody who died at the end of “Infinity War” will eventually come back to life. This includes stars like Spider-Man and Black Panther from their respective films, and Groot, the lovable tree alien who is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He also thinks Thanos will live, an outcome which not many people expect to happen.
When asked if he was okay with beloved characters possibly dying in the film, the sophomore gave an answer that would surprise many.
“Yes, I’d be okay if some characters died for good,” LaFeir said. “Eventually, the story has to conclude.” He cited Captain America and Iron Man as characters who could potentially pass away.
That outcome would pose as a thorn for VanderVeen though.
“I’m hoping for a happy outcome with Iron Man because he is the one who started this thing,” VanderVeen said. “I’m hoping to see all of our favorite heroes back together again to kick Thanos’ butt.”
Tickets to see the new movie may be hard to come by when the film gets released worldwide on April 26. According to Fandango, the film sold five times more tickets in the first week they dropped than the holder of the previous record “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Some industry experts predict that “Avengers: Endgame” could potentially have the biggest weekend opening of all-time.