The silicone and latex prosthetic belly Chris Hemsworth wore as Thor weighed around 40 kilos. Detailed to match the hair and moles on his real body exactly, the costume prompted people on set to stroke it constantly; Hemsworth says it made him feel like Santa Claus.
The film was shot back to back with Avengers: Infinity War over 200 days.
Stan Lee's final cameo was based on his real appearance in the 1970s. Lola Visual Effects used de-aging technology to return him to that era.
Evangeline Lilly and Paul Rudd were shooting this film at the same time as Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Natalie Portman's appearance in the film was assembled from leftover footage from Thor: The Dark World; she recorded dialogue for a scene in which her character speaks from a distance. Although she shot no new scenes, she attended the premiere.
At the funeral scene, Tom Holland was told they were shooting a wedding – so that he would not give away spoilers.
Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg and Michael Douglas are among the characters given digital de-aging, as was Stan Lee's cameo set in 1970. The technique is used frequently in Marvel films.
The funeral scene was described as 'the most complicated scheduling shot in cinema history.' All the actors were really there; none of them were added digitally.
During the battle, the masks of many characters open and close mechanically. The actors' contracts stipulate that their faces must be visible without a mask for a certain amount of time; the mechanical masks made this easier.
Robert Downey Jr. sometimes brought musicians to the set to play at lunch.
One of the Russo brothers' favourite scenes is Captain America going into space for the first time.
'New Asgard' is actually the Scottish village of St Abbs. Thor drinks the Scottish beer Innis and Gunn; the bottle of Irn Bru and the golf club in the window are also nods to Scotland. (In the comics, Asgard was rebuilt in Oklahoma after Ragnarok.)
Stunt Coordinator Sam Hargrave shared a touching detail about the scene in which Captain America fights his 2012 self: his first job at Marvel was as Cap's stunt double in The Avengers, but in Endgame Cap's stunt double was his younger brother Daniel. Sam got the chance to put the costume on one last time and fight his brother. 'That's why I put the suit back on, so I could say that. Marvel is great about that, but there's a lot of digital face replacement, and there are also epic moments where the Hargrave brothers fight,' he said. Sam directed the entire sequence and described it as one of the film's most important moments.
Tony's extreme weight loss was done with VFX.
In the film's 3D version, the funeral scene, unlike the other scenes, is presented in 2D.
Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War were shot entirely with digital IMAX cameras and became the first Hollywood films shot in a 1.9:1 aspect ratio. Standard cinemas and home video releases were cropped to 2.39:1. On 11 November 2021, Disney re-released the film on Disney+ in its original IMAX format.
In the final battle, Howard the Duck appears among the Ravagers in only 18 frames (less than 1 second). His 3D model was fully rigged and included detailed animation for the feathers.
New Asgard is actually the Norwegian city of Tønsberg; it was also the site of the Asgard-Jotunheim war in Thor and where Red Skull stole the Tesseract in Captain America: The First Avenger.
The rat was not digital but a real, professionally trained rat. Visual effects supervisor Dan DeLeeuw made a bet with a producer that he could find a trained rat, and won. Director Joe Russo and writer Christopher Markus referred to the rat as 'the hero of the Infinity Saga.' One fan theory suggests the rat is actually Loki.
The Quantum Realm suits are entirely a VFX product, because the production had to start before the costume design was finished. VFX producer Jen Underdahl explained that the costumes were not ready in time. Captain Marvel's costume was also digital every time she appeared, because the designs for Brie Larson's solo film had not yet been finalised.
The Russo brothers express their commitment to the love story of Cap and Peggy Carter in these words: 'That long crane shot where we find Cap and Peggy at the window... was our favourite shot in the film.'
The scene in which Lang is reunited with his daughter moves the film's crew every time they watch it. Paul Rudd's improvised line 'You're so big' is an inseparable part of this moment.
The Asgard corridors were shot in April 2017 at Durham Cathedral in England, during the production of Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
The reason Thor wears gloves throughout the film is to hide the seams of Chris Hemsworth's fat suit.
The opening Tokyo shoot was completed over two nights in Atlanta.
The scene in which Thor beheads the older Thanos is the first beheading scene seen in a Disney film. Disney has an explicit policy on this.
Making Steve Rogers look old was not easy. The VFX team, drawing on methods from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), applied ageing effects to Chris Evans's face and body; a skin double and an elderly body were used.
At three hours and one minute, Avengers: Endgame is the longest film in the MCU.
In the final battle, Captain America shouts 'Avengers... assemble.' Tom Holland said he heard only the word 'Avengers' and started running and shouting while 'assemble' was said quietly, so the scene had to be reshot.
When Tony gives Steve his shield back, the opening phrase of Alan Silvestri's 'Captain America March' is heard in the background.
Only half of the orchestra played for the film's credit text.
At around the 2-minute mark: in the Marvel Studios sequence, the heroes unaffected by the Decimation in Infinity War are shown, while those who died are left out.
Many scenes had to be cut. One of them was an aerial battle featuring Kraglin, played by Sean Gunn. Kraglin is an odd side character played in the Guardians of the Galaxy series by James Gunn's brother Sean (who also served as Rocket's stunt double during filming). After Endgame was released, a set photo surfaced of Sean Gunn filming as Kraglin, showing that the Ravager leader was somewhere in the final battle against Thanos. Speaking recently about this cut scene, Gunn said, 'I can only tell you what we shot. Obviously, some parts were cut from the final battle for a good reason. Narratively, they didn't want to go into the Sky Battle, which makes sense, but all I can say is that Kraglin put on his fin. It was on the collar arrow but it was in the sheath, and it stayed in the sheath. So I think all of that counts as canon, and the rest is up to everyone's speculation.' Aside from Kraglin's cut role, there was also going to be a brief appearance of Yondu's signature arrow, but it wasn't used in the battle.
Bruce was called 'Smart Hulk' throughout filming.
The two beers Thor drinks, Athena (yellow and white can) and Tropicalia (orange and blue can), are brewed by Creature Comforts in Athens, Georgia. At the time of filming, the brewery only distributed in Athens and Atlanta, and Atlanta was one of the main filming locations. The Russo Brothers are big fans of Creature Comforts and have been seen wearing the brewery's T-shirts at events such as D23 Expo.
Concept artist Ryan Meinerding shared a change that was considered for the climactic scene in which Captain America uses Mjölnir: 'It would have been great to see that Cap wasn't sure if he could lift Mjölnir,' he wrote, in an image showing the hero reaching for the weapon amid the rubble. Brie Larson recently shared a photo of herself holding the hammer, which led Natalie Portman to ask her to be careful with it because she needed it for Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
The first poster released featured Okoye, but Danai Gurira's name was not among the other cast names at the top of the poster. The poster was quickly recalled and replaced with one that included her name.
Storyboards exist for a scene in which Black Panther and Hulk team up. In the cut scene, the two fight side by side as Thanos's aliens attack. Spotting one of the giant Leviathan creatures from the first Avengers (2012) film, T'Challa instantly forms a plan and tells Hulk, 'Hit me.' The two bring their fists together, the force of Hulk's punch is absorbed into Black Panther's suit, giving it its characteristic purple glow. T'Challa leaps onto the monster and, with his suit charged with Hulk's power, destroys it, walking away in true 'cool guys don't look at explosions' style. This scene would have been a fun footnote to the pair's interaction in Infinity War; Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner bows in T'Challa's presence and is told that they don't do that in Wakanda. The two have an even older history in the MCU; Banner is the character who first says the name 'Wakanda' out loud in Age of Ultron, and at first he mispronounces it.
The final showdown between Thanos, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man was inspired by the ending of Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).
New concept art reveals that Ant-Man would have brought a giant army of ants to the battlefield and overcome the Chitauri Leviathans, but this was ultimately shelved.
On September 11, 2017, filming temporarily halted because of Hurricane Irma.
Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding shared unused Avengers: Endgame concept art on Twitter. These drawings reveal shelved potential designs for beloved heroes. One of the most striking is a version in which Doctor Strange wears the Iron Man armor: Stephen Strange combines his nanotechnology armor with his Sorcerer Supreme powers, while the Eye of Agamotto takes the place of the Arc Reactor.
The outfits the Avengers wear in the Quantum Realm recall the space suits from the 2010 animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
In the opening scene, the sounds of birds around them gradually fade along with the Decimation.
Chris Hemsworth wore a fat suit weighing about 30 kilos in the film; when his armor was added on top of it for the final battle, his mobility was further restricted. Hemsworth, whose look was completed with cheek pads, a new beard and hair, was excited about the transformation according to his co-stars Paul Rudd and Tessa Thompson.
The Russo Brothers can start their shooting days with rehearsal and apply script changes until the afternoon.
Because Josh Brolin was unavailable while Karen Gillan's Nebula was filming scenes with Thanos, Joe Russo played Thanos in civilian clothes. A cardboard face of Thanos was attached to a pole over eight feet long to adjust Gillan's eyeline. Gillan described the experience at Comic Con Paris as 'surreal'.
Tokyo's look was inspired by Ridley Scott's 1989 film Black Rain.
At about 2 hours, 17 minutes and 40 seconds, the Wasp emerges from a portal smaller than the others and returns to normal size after passing through.
Clint's subtitles while speaking Japanese are wrong; the correct translation is: 'Half the world was destroyed by Thanos, why are you still alive?'
When Thor explains the Aether, he only puts drops in his left eye, because his right eye is a robotic prosthesis fitted by Rocket in Infinity War.
At around the 51st minute, when Hulk and Rocket visit Thor in New Asgard, Korg is seen playing Fortnite in the cabin. Close to the film's release, Epic Games launched a game mode based on this.
Time travel is explained in two scenes in Endgame. In the first, Banner rejects the popular culture examples of time travel in response to Rhodey's suggestion to "kill Hitler" and says we cannot change the past. In the second, while taking the Time Stone from the Ancient One, we learn that the stones create the flow of time and that removing a stone creates new timelines. This can be corrected by returning the stones to the moment they belong to.
At around 2 hours 19 minutes, while Stark and Potts fight back to back, Stark has the only moment in which he uses his armor's Uni-beam.
At around 2 hours 18 minutes 50 seconds, Spider-Man joins the attack by swinging from Ant-Man's giant hand.
In the scene where the rat crawls across the front panel of the van, an experienced film animal was used. Two trainers hid in the van in blue clothing; one guided the rat under the passenger seat.
At around the 17th minute, when the Avengers find Thanos in his retirement world, the wounded Titan is held by several heroes. This moment mirrors a similar scene in Infinity War.
The first concepts for the Quantum Suits designed for the Time Heist had Thor's cape. The drawings in The Art of the Movie book show different versions of the costumes, which were made entirely with CGI.
The Russos call the glove-based game of hide-and-seek "flea flicker."
As Hulk and Rocket land in New Asgard, the Kinks' song "Supersonic Rocket Ship" plays. The same road was also used in Richard Franklin's film Link; there, "Apeman" was playing.
After Hawkeye's first time travel, the Avengers gather for the Time Heist. On the holographic screen, the meeting's name appears as "Brainstorming Session."
Scarlett Johansson said that several different versions of Natasha's death scene were shot. In one, Natasha and Clint were chased by "Soul Eater-like" creatures. The Russo brothers ultimately preferred a plain and intimate scene.
The idea that Smart Hulk was the last active hero in earlier versions of Avengers: Endgame comes from the concept drawings in The Art of Avengers: Endgame book. While designing Hulk's superhero look, Ryan Meinerding subtly embroidered an "H" on his chest. But this is not exactly true in the film; Iron Man and Captain America had retired, Thor had shut himself away in New Asgard, and Hawkeye had turned into Ronin. The actual heroic duties fell to the new Avengers team led by Black Widow.
The Russo brothers gave small roles in the film to Yvette Nicole Brown and Ken Jeong, whom we know from the series "Community." Brown plays a military staff member who reports Captain America and Iron Man, who are time traveling in the 1970s, for suspicious behavior, while Jeong plays a security guard who helps Ant-Man get out of the garage.
In the mid-credits scene, all the MCU characters featured in the film are listed. The six main superheroes were deliberately left for the end: Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.
Because test audiences could not tell the two apart, a computer-generated helmet was placed on the past Captain America's head.
The Avengers' time travel suits were inspired by the breathable mesh technology in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Jen Underdahl and her team redesigned the helmets 100% digitally. In the final designs, part of the mesh was used as a visor.
Weta digital VFX supervisor Matt Aitken described one of the most terrifying designs made for Iron Man's death: the energy of the stones had risen to his face and caused one of his eyes to burst and hang down on his cheek. The team tried many versions to strike a balance that was convincing that Tony could die but not too frightening for children. Jen Underdahl said that a "Two-Face"-like design was also considered but was dropped because it took away from the emotion of the moment.
It is Alan Silvestri's fourth Marvel film, after Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers and Avengers: Infinity War.
In a deleted scene, Rocket watches footage of the Chitauri invasion from The Avengers (2012) and mocks the team for taking so long to defeat "the worst army in the galaxy."
Jon Favreau admitted that he was initially doubtful about the idea of killing Tony Stark: "I talked to the Russos, 'I don't know, this is really going to affect people because they were kids who grew up with this character.' But it was handled so well. Gwyneth and Robert gave a wonderful performance. I was wrong. I got choked up."
Concept artist Jerad Marantz shared unused armor designs for Thanos. He said he tried a Spartan style, but that the final armor suited the character better. An updated armor with a bulkier look also emerged.
Aleksi Briclot's early concept for Captain America shows a gold-colored and bulky quantum realm suit. The final design was sleeker and created entirely digitally. This saved the time and cost that practical effects would have required.
With this film, the Russo brothers became the second highest-grossing directors worldwide after Steven Spielberg. James Cameron surpassed this record with the release of Avatar: The Way of Water.
Avengers: Endgame became the fourth film to gross over $100 million domestically on its opening day and the first to gross over $150 million.
After Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, the Russo brothers directed their third film to become the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide. They became the 13th and 14th people to direct films that topped more than one year's box office.