PICS: Hollywood celebrates the finale of the 'Avengers' movies

Published Apr 23, 2019

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Los Angeles - Robert Downey Jr., Chris

Hemsworth and other members of the Avengers superhero team on

Monday celebrated the final chapter in a 22-movie saga that

ranks as the movie industry's highest-grossing franchise of all

time.

At a lavish premiere in Los Angeles, hundreds of industry

VIPs, cast members, fans and media watched the first showing of

"Avengers: Endgame," the three-hour action spectacle that has

been held tightly under wraps.

The movie begins rolling out in theatres around the world on

Wednesday.

Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson

(Black Widow), Chris Evans (Captain America) and others walked a

purple carpet underneath a giant, spinning Avengers logo set up

inside the Los Angeles Convention Center. A cavernous exhibit

hall was turned into a movie theater with a large screen and

stadium-style seating.

"I'm excited that I'm finally going to get to see the

movie," said Paul Rudd, who plays Ant-Man and, like other cast

members, had not seen the finished film due to Marvel's secrecy

around the project.

Rudd said he had been traveling the world to promote the

movie and "trying to talk about it the best we can, and to do

all of that without having seen the film is a strange

experience. So now, to finally see the movie is great."

Other A-list stars packed the premiere, including Chris

Hemsworth's brother Liam and his wife Miley Cyrus, and Matt

Damon, who had a cameo in 2017 film "Thor: Ragnarok."

"Endgame" concludes the story of the six original Avengers

in Marvel's cinematic universe - Iron Man, Captain America,

Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk and Thor.

It picks up after last year's "Avengers: Infinity War" left

fans hanging when many of the Marvel heroes seemed to turn to

dust at the hand of the villain Thanos, played by Josh Brolin.

In "Endgame," the surviving superheroes plot to kill Thanos and

try to undo his damage.

After the screening, the stars gathered on stage and hugged.

Evans told the crowd that he "cried like six times" while

watching the film. "I cried more than six times, Chris,"

Hemsworth said.

Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk, said working on the films

had been "the trip of a lifetime".

The 21 previous movies from the Walt Disney Co-owned

Marvel studio are the highest-grossing franchise in film

history, generating more than $18.6 billion at global box

offices since 2007.

"Endgame" may set an opening weekend record in the domestic

market, according to box office analysts. "Infinity War" holds

the current record of $257.7 million over its first three days

in the United States and Canada.

Initial reactions to "Endgame" were positive.

Erik Davis, managing editor at Fandango, called the movie a

"masterful epic." "If Infinity War is the brawn, Endgame is the

brains. And wow, what an ending!" Davis wrote on Twitter.

While "Endgame" wraps up the "Avengers" story, many Marvel

characters will live on in future movies. Spider-Man, for

example, returns to the big screen in July in "Spider-Man: Far

from Home."

A "Black Panther" sequel is also in the works.

"There will be new beginnings," said Marvel Studios

President Kevin Feige. "There will be new stories. There will be

new ways of doing it, but for now the focus is on the endgame." 

Reuters

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