Joe & Anthony Russo on why the Avengers: Endgame run-time is so long

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

As AVENGERS: ENDGAME is said to serve as the conclusion to the entire Infinity Saga which has been spread out over the past decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's only natural that it will be an epic adventure, and that can be applied to its run-time as well. Clocking in at 3 hours and 2 minutes, AVENGERS: ENDGAME will be the longest film in the MCU, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo explained to Total Film why the film needed to be so long.

"It’s 10 years of one of the greatest experiments in movie history coming to a close," said Joe Russo. "And you know, it’s an epic narrative that’s fitting right around three hours." As for whether anyone at the studio ever pressured them to cut the film down, Anthony Russo said no, explaining that they were typically the ones wanting to keep AVENGERS: ENDGAME tight and focused.

Joe and I like very propulsive storytelling. We like to keep it tight and focused, and to give the audience a thrill ride. But this movie… you know, no one’s been pushing us to cut the film. We usually are – we’re primarily pushing ourselves… Again, the number of characters, the scope of the story, the fact that it was a conclusion. It’s just that everything lined up [so] that it was going to be a difficult story to tell. Meaning that it would require a lot of screen time to tell it properly.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely share the Russo's opinion. "It always felt like this was not a movie that you should cut stuff out of for efficiency," Markus said. "You know, people have sat through 21 movies. They put in – what is that? – 44 hours of sitting. I don’t think there’s anybody there who’s like, ‘OK, I’ve got to get out of there in 85 minutes, I want a nice, quick wrap-up.’ You’ve earned a long, satisfying, conclusion to the story you tell. So I don’t think there was anybody who wanted to trade it out for a speedy box-office. Even watching it, it doesn’t feel like a slog." McFeely agreed, but joked that you shouldn't have a soda.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME will hit theaters on April 26th, and tickets are on sale (and breaking records) right now.