When Marvel boss Kevin Feige took to the stage to introduce Avengers 4 at CineEurope earlier this month, he referred to the 2019 sequel as simply Avengers: Untitled. Nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, Feige is the first to admit that the hullabaloo surrounding the mystery title has been blown out of proportion – a storm in a teacup, if you will – as it’s really only a matter of time before the studio makes its grand announcement.
But that has in no way curbed online enthusiasm, given there are entire forums and subreddits dedicated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, in particular, the moniker of Marvel’s next big team-up movie. A number of early contenders have already been crossed off the list entirely, but today, it seems as if the film’s cinematographer, Trent Opaloch, may have accidentally slipped up and revealed the title ahead of schedule.
Over on his website, there’s a listing with all of his credits, which include Infinity War, Civil War and The Winter Soldier, among others. But perhaps the one that’ll stick out the most is the credit for Avengers: End Game. Yes, it seems as if the title has now been outed as End Game and though we’d advise taking this with a grain of salt until we hear something official, it would certainly fit in with what we already know.
For one, this has been a popular pick for the Avengers 4 title for a while and references a line said in Infinity War. After Thanos has got hold of the Time Stone and heads off to Earth in search of the last one he needs, the Mind Stone, Doctor Strange makes clear how dire the situation is. “We’re in the endgame now,” he tells Tony Stark.
It’s widely suspected by fans that Strange will prove to be very important in Avengers 4, so naming the movie after something he said in the previous installment could subtly prepare the audience for a twist to come with his character. Though he’s currently dead, there has to be a bigger reason why he caved in so easily and gave Thanos the Time Stone. Like he tells Iron Man, “it was the only way.” Presumably, this was a nod to the fact that he was making sure this timeline was the only one out of 14 million – which he’d foreseen earlier – that ends with the Avengers coming out on top.
Of course, there’s every chance that this listing is just a placeholder. Or perhaps Opaloch put it there purposefully to mess with fans. Right now, we can’t say for sure. But again, Avengers: End Game is one of the top choices when it comes to what people think the film will be called and it seems as if Trent may have accidentally confirmed it.