With Avengers: Endgame set to hit theaters worldwide later this month, fans have been preparing themselves to sit through what will be the longest superhero film to receive a wide theatrical release. While previous reports have placed the runtime for the fourth Avengers film at a little over three hours, neither Anthony or Joe Russo had confirmed the movie's precise length.
Now, Joe Russo confirmed the official runtime of Avengers: Endgame will be just over three hours long.
"I think it's three hours and 58 seconds," said Russo to ComicBook.com. This conflicts, ever so slightly, with the widely-reportedly run times that AMC Theaters and Fandango had previously advertised the film's runtime as three hours and two minutes. Russo joked that they shaved a few precious seconds off the film by speeding up the credits.
Russo had previously explained the lengthy running time for Avengers: Endgame by pointing to the film's large cast of characters and massive emotional stakes.
"My brother and I are really committed to emotional stakes, and emotion requires story real estate" Russo said last week.
The Russo brothers confirmed the final edit of the film was locked last month, so it's likely any changes to the previously advertised three hours and two minutes runtime are minor. With the three hours and 58 second official runtime, Endgame has eclipsed 2012's The Dark Knight Rises for the longest superhero film to receive a wide theatrical release by about 16 minutes.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau and Bradley Cooper, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Josh Brolin. The film arrives April 26.