Avengers: Endgame arrives on 4K Blu-ray, but don’t expect Earth’s mightiest extras

As the epic wrap-up to over 20 interconnected MCU films, Avengers: Endgame had an incredible task at hand, and still somehow stuck the landing. (We called it a “staggering send-off” to the MCU in our initial review). Directors Anthony and Joe Russo delivered a film full of heart and emotion, that also happened to be packed with character team-ups and action set pieces that comic fans have been dreaming of for decades. Following its massive success in theatres (the film recently sailed past Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time), Endgame now lands on 4K Blu-ray and an array of other platforms, but fans expecting any sort of wide-ranging extras are likely to be sorely disappointed.

Presented in a 4K transfer, the film looks spotless, with no signs of noise or grain, and is complemented by a room-shaking DTS soundtrack. While the technical presentation is top-notch, the extras are pretty lacking for a movie of this scope and impact.

The basis of the extras presented here are a handful of featurettes centered on the impact of the creators and the characters themselves. The most touching of these is the 8-minute Remembering Stan Lee, which focuses on his fan-favourite cameos in the MCU films and his legacy as the creator / co-creator of these characters that generations of fans have grown up with. He will be sorely missed, and this is a nice send-off.

Setting The Tone: Casting Robert Downey Jr. is a 5-minute piece about the impact Downey Jr. has had on the franchise, and the risks the studio took in hiring him for the initial Iron Man film (Downey Jr. was once a very risky proposition, a notion that seems far-fetched now after the massive success of the MCU). The 12-minute A Man Out of Time: Creating Captain America is a nice look back at the origins and impact of the character throughout these films and where his story wraps up with Endgame. We also get a look at the evolution of Black Widow with the 7-minute Black Widow: Whatever It Takes, some insights into the directors of the film with the 6-minute The Russo Brothers: Journey to Endgame, a look at how Thor expanded his waistline with the 4-minute Bro Thor, and a bit of back-slapping with the 6-minute The Women of the MCU, which can’t help but feel like a bit of revisionist history considering Captain Marvel is the only film in the entire MCU to be led by a woman.

Rounding out the disc is a set of deleted scenes (including some with incomplete SFX) that are mostly interstitial moments, although there is a touching scene with the characters paying their respects to Tony Stark / Iron Man, a gag reel of the cast goofing around on-set, and an audio commentary from the Russos (only included on the standard resolution Blu-ray disc).

The glory days of comprehensive special features may be long gone, but it’s still disappointing to see so little of substance included here apart from some EPK-style fluff. There is almost nothing about the production of the film included here; most of the features are focused on the films leading up to Endgame, which means they were probably produced and filed away well in advance. Diehard fans should still pick this up for the impressive A/V presentation, but it’s too bad the biggest movie of all time wasn’t afforded the comprehensive home video release it deserves.

Avengers: Endgame is available now.