Avengers 4’s title was always going to be Endgame, not Annihilation. Leading up to the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3, it was announced in 2014 that the shared universe’s first saga would conclude with an epic showdown with the Mad Titan Thanos. And the size of the Avengers’ final chapters became obvious when it was revealed it would be a two-part event, with Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 releasing in May 2018 and Avengers: Infinity War - Part 2 hitting theaters in May 2019.

Needless to say, things changed. Avengers: Infinity War dropped the “Part 1” from its title and the second film just became known as Avengers 4 (temporarily). And thus began over two years of speculation as to what Avengers 4 would be titled. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige once said that the Avengers 4 title would spoil Infinity War’s ending, but the sheer hype surrounding the title’s reveal dwarfed whatever spoilers would’ve been hinted at from the name itself.

It wasn’t until the first Avengers 4 trailer released that it was revealed the Avengers 4 title is Endgame. It’s a title that was rejected by Anthony and Joe Russo themselves, despite it being the most popular theory for Avengers 4’s title. And it was surprising to many since it was rumored the title would actually be Annihilation. But that was never going to be the title, and here’s why.

  • This Page: Doctor Strange & Tony Stark’s Quotes Next Page: Infinity War’s Cinematographer & The Russo Brothers

Doctor Strange’s Avengers: Infinity War Quote Revealed “Endgame”

While there’s quite a bit of evidence pointing to Avengers: Endgame being the movie’s title, the most commonly used proof is that Doctor Strange explicitly said “endgame” in Avengers: Infinity War. After handing over the Time Stone to Thanos in order to save Tony Stark’s life, Doctor Strange told Tony, “We’re in the endgame now,” in response to Tony’s question about why Doctor Strange would give up one of the six Infinity Stones… for him. This came after Doctor Strange had used the Time Stone to see into more than 14 million possible futures, spotting one in which they win.

Because of Doctor Strange’s sudden willingness to give up the Time Stone, despite saying that he would let both Iron Man and Spider-Man die in order to protect the Infinity Stone, it became clear that the only way to defeat Thanos for good - and perhaps save everyone - was to allow the Mad Titan to succeed in wiping out half of all life in the universe (which is now officially known as the Decimation). Of course, the resolution to Doctor Stange’s plan would come to pass in Avengers 4, hence why it’s called Endgame. Interestingly, though, this isn’t the first time that Marvel fans have heard the term “endgame” used in the MCU.

Tony Stark first used “endgame” in Avengers: Age of Ultron, when he was informing the rest of the Avengers as to why he created Ultron in the first place: in order to safeguard the planet against extraterrestrial threats. As the Avengers, Tony knew they could fight all sorts of bad guys, but a villain like Thanos is what could ultimately defeat them, and he did. The Avengers lost in Infinity War, but they’ll be back for one last attempt at saving the world (and the universe, for that matter) in Avengers: Endgame.

Page 2 of 2: Infinity War’s Cinematographer Leaked Endgame & The Russos “Confirmed” It

Avengers: Endgame’s Cinematographer Leaked The Title Months Ago

Back when the Avengers: Endgame title was still being heavily theorized, the Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 cinematographer Trent Opaloch, who’s a longtime collaborator of the Russo brothers, accidentally leaked the title of the fourth Avengers film in his resume on his official website. Opaloch, who was also the cinematographer on the Russos’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, listed Avengers 4 as Avengers: End Game - two words. It was the first time that anyone associated with the film acknowledged the sequel as anything other than Avengers 4, which made people believe that it was true.

It didn’t take long for word to spread online that Opaloch might’ve leaked the Avengers 4 title, which is why he quickly removed the name from his website and reverted the listing back to just Avengers 4. Because of that, and because Marvel Studios didn’t just confirm the title right then and there, it was believed that Opaloch just latched onto the most popular fan theory about the Avengers 4 title. While Endgame - or End Game, as Opaloch had written it - made the most sense, the Russos had expressly said at the time that the Avengers 4 title wasn’t anything mentioned in Infinity War, which ended up being false and a blatant misdirection. If it wasn’t for that quote from the Russos, then it would’ve been obvious from the very beginning that Endgame was the title (which it still was).

The Russos’ Cryptic Photo Included Endgame

Leading up to the release of the first Avengers 4 trailer, the Russo brothers released a cryptic, behind-the-scenes photo online, which many people believed contained the then-unknown Avengers 4 title. And while there were many theories as to what the title could be, and people were using whatever was in the image to prove their theories correct, Endgame actually ended up being in the photo. Getting creative with some of the letters (and some of the equipment and tools in the photo), it became clear that Endgame was certainly a possibility for the Avengers 4 title, no matter what the Russos had previously said about it not being true. And so, it became the latest in a string of evidence supporting the theory that Endgame was going to be Avengers 4’s title.

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Bottom line: Endgame was always going to be the Avengers 4 title, not Annihilation, and when taking everything into account, it doesn’t really make sense why Annihilation was even considered a possibility (aside from the fact that it wasn’t spoken in Infinity War). Endgame is something that’s intrinsically tied to the crux of Iron Man’s story - Tony Stark started working on Ultron after the Battle of New York to prevent another alien invasion - and to the Avengers’ entire story arc.

Annihilation, on the other hand, is the title of a major Marvel Comics crossover event in which Annihilus lead the Annihilation Wave across the universe and came into contact with the Avengers. While Thanos was part of the Annihilation event, it certainly wasn’t about him, which makes it an ill-fit title for Avengers 4. Plus, it would limit the potential of using the title for a future Avengers movie in the MCU’s Phase 4 (or beyond). So, taking everything into account, it’s quite clear that Endgame was always what the Russos had planned for Avengers 4’s title.

More: Avengers: Endgame - Every Update You Need To Know

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