Friday, April 26, 2019

Dissecting Every Part of Avengers: Endgame

HWD Weekly writer Nicole Sperling is on vacation, which means our final newsletter this week can be devoted to the only thing the Internet seems interested in doing right now: breaking down each and every bit of Avengers: Endgame, the three-hour Marvel Cinematic Universe juggernaut that could be on track to earn $1 billion in less than a week. There are a variety of stories about the film up on VF.com now, and more to come—but the most illuminating may be Joanna Robinson’s reflection on Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, a character that has undergone a tremendous metamorphosis since his first on-screen appearances—all leading up to Endgame,where he may reach his final form. What Robinson points out is that Thor’s journey mirrors that of Hemsworth himself, who spent a few years lost in the wilderness of the M.C.U. “Speaking with Vanity Fair on the set of Avengers: Endgame in October 2017,” she writes, “Hemsworth reflected back on his first few outings playing the self-serious, Shakespearean Thor that Kevin Feigeand the Marvel team originally dreamed up. The actor said he was frustrated and bored. Like the depressed Thor in Endgame, Hemsworth was unable to be the hero he thought Marvel wanted him to be.” But everything changed with Thor: Ragnarok—and now the Norse god’s future is looking especially bright.
Elsewhere in HWD, we explain Endgame’s post-credits tribute, unexpected cameos, and most surprising callback—while Laura Bradley laments the way the film treats one of its most long-suffering characters.