A roughly five-minute apparent leak from Avengers: Endgame has made social media a minefield for spoiler-averse Marvel movie fans, and the directors have posted a plea for people to avoid revealing details about the movie. The leak (which we won’t describe in detail here) was apparently recorded surreptitiously during a screening, then cut together and posted online. It includes a handful of pivotal-seeming scenes from Endgame, although it certainly won’t give you a full picture of the movie — and the quality is so abysmal that you won’t get the glossy Marvel cinematic experience, either.
Endgame’s directors Anthony and Joe Russo have gone to extreme lengths to keep the movie’s secrets under wraps. (Actor Tom Holland, who plays Peter Parker, didn’t even get to see the script.) After CNBC and other outlets posted about the leak, the Russo brothers issued a letter on Twitter. “The two of us, along with everyone involved in Endgame, have worked tirelessly for the last three years with the sole intention of delivering a surprising and emotionally powerful conclusion to the Infinity Saga,” they wrote. “When you see Endgame in the coming weeks, please don’t spoil it for others, the same way you wouldn’t want it spoiled for you.”




The letter doesn’t mention the fact that there’s Endgame footage floating around the internet, and the Russo brothers issued a similar letter about Avengers: Infinity War. But the timing makes it look like a pretty clear response to the leak, just as the Infinity War warning was specifically timed around the film’s world premiere. That said, given how elaborate Marvel’s filming and screening process has been, it’s always possible that these leaked scenes aren’t even an accurate depiction of the film’s final cut.
The leaked clips don’t seem quite as overtly trollish as some spoiler campaigns — like the spread of a certain spoiler from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Even so, some fans on The Verge’s staff have seen unwanted details on their social media feeds, and while I’ve mostly found positive messages in the Russo brothers’ #DontSpoilTheEndgame hashtag, it seems like ripe bait for people who want to deliberately spoil the film.
So what should hardcore anti-spoiler folks do until the film’s release on April 26th? Well, our colleagues at Polygon have put together a guide for avoiding plot details on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and other platforms. Or you could just stay off the internet for the next week — which, if you can manage it, actually sounds like bliss.
Conversely, if you’re the kind of person who likes spoilers, there’s a whole subreddit devoted to discussing Marvel movie leaks. Proceed at your own risk.