Avengers 4 Behind-the-Scenes Image Tease Instantly Devolves Into Absurdity

Captain Marvel is almost here—yes, in her own movie first, but also to save everyone’s butts later (half of everyone, anyway), in Avengers 4. We’re all on the lookout for any and all hints about exactly what Infinity War‘s second half (you can’t fool us with that title change) will entail, and no one knows that better than the creative team behind the movie. So, of course, they’re teasing us with hints designed to turn us all into conspiracy theorists.

We’ve already seen some set photos—since the movie officially wrapped shooting well before Infinity War even hit theaters—that have provided plenty of material for speculation about the events of Avengers 4, as well as some promotional art, but today, the Russo Brothers dropped an official behind-the-scenes photo that … doesn’t seem to give much away:

It’s a black and white shot of an empty set, showing mostly what appears to be a green screen. The only person in the picture appears to be Joe Russo, staring at a laptop screen. (I think?) Unless zooming in on that screen reveals a script page that says, “And then Captain Marvel punches Thanos so hard that he somehow coughs up all of our dusted friends,” it doesn’t seem like there’s anything to learn here.

But the tweet encourages us to “look hard…” and let’s be honest, Marvel fans on the internet, expert Easter egg hunters by now, hardly needed the invitation. In the replies below the tweet, fans have come up with some creative solutions as to what they’re supposed to be looking for, and honestly, it quickly escalated to the point where it’s difficult to tell who’s being serious and who’s not—especially when whatever we’re supposed to “look hard” for could easily be a simple cheeky nod, rather than something incredibly meaningful.

Marvel certainly loves to do that kind of thing, and we got something along those lines in the Captain Marvel poster just yesterday. The poster has a cat hiding in plain sight in the bottom left corner—a cat that could either be a simple nod to Captain Marvel’s cat, Chewie, in the comics, or could be hiding some surprises of its own onscreen, depending on what they want to do with that comic history.

In the Russos’ photo, some fans are focused on the idea that there’s something spelled out by the objects in the image, with the ladder as an A, and a vaguely E-shaped glint off of some equipment on the right. Someone even went as far as—jokingly, I’m pretty sure—spelling out the rumored “Endgame” title, incorporating that A, E, and other shapes, and honestly, when you kind of start to see it, you know you’ve been looking at the image too long and should probably take a break, and maybe go for a walk.

Others have expertly mocked the idea of taking meaning away from shapes in the pic:

So what’s the deal? Is there really a literal hidden message spelled out? Is it something that’s a more obscure reference, or maybe something less meaningful and more obvious? Does it say Endgame? Even if it does, is that because it’s the title, or just a reference to Doctor Strange’s line, just as foreshadowing? Have we all just lost it? Why does only half of the Russo brothers appear in the photo?! Surely, this must carry greater meaning, what with Thanos’ plan to destroy half of all—you know what? I’ve been looking at it too long again.

(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)

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Dan Van Winkle

Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.

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