‘Avengers: Endgame’ is so long, Marvel is considering adding an intermission. Here’s what that might look like
Feb 07, 2019
Avengers assemble … after a long popcorn break!
What’s happening: Alan Cerny, a writer for ComingSoon.net, tweeted this week that Marvel Studios may be considering an intermission for their much-anticipated “Avengers: Endgame” film.
https://twitter.com/AlanCernyCS/status/1092950468878323712
- Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have confirmed that “Endgame” will clock in at three hours long, making it the longest Marvel movie ever, according to Gamespot.
- Cerny is not a Marvel/Disney insider, so his tweet should be taken with a grain of salt.
- However, an intermission might make sense for the film. Historically, intermissions were saved for epics hitting the three-hour mark, according to Comic Book.
Why is “Endgame” so long? If you consider that “Endgame” will wrap up a 22 film story, it makes sense that the final film will be so long.
- The Russo brothers told Collider this month that emotion is also a big part of the length. “When you have to tell a really complicated story and you want strong emotional moments with the characters,” they said, “it just requires a certain amount of real estate. This one, in particular, feels like three hours worth of real estate.”
- According to Collider, the film is playing well with test audiences at its current length.
Why have an intermission? Modern intermissions, though they are rare, serve multiple functions, including allowing audiences to take a bathroom break, purchase concessions or think about the film.
- According to Comic Book, an intermission in “Endgame” could be engineered to come at a powerful stopping point that leaves guests “flabbergasted and thirsty for what comes next.”
History of intermissions: In the early days of film, intermissions were a matter of necessity rather than convenience.
- Because early films were contained on multiple reels, theaters held intermissions while reels were changed, according to Cliftex Theatre.
- Intermissions evolved with film, becoming a moment for audiences to catch their breath and restock their snacks without missing plot points.
- They became less popular in the 1970s and were all but gone by the 2000s, as the demand to pack as many screenings as possible into theaters phased them out, according to How to Geek.
If “Endgame” gets an intermission, it will reportedly be the first major film to have one since Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” in 2015.