'Avengers: Endgame' Clip: Nobody Wants Your Picture, Ant-Man

Avengers: Endgame has been shredding up the box office since the moment it opened, and chances are, I'm gonna say, extremely high that if you're reading an entertainment website like this one, you've probably seen the film already. Now Marvel Studios has released a Mark Ruffalo-centric clip from the movie, in which he explains how his character spent eighteen months experimenting to ultimately create Smart Hulk, a combination of science whiz Bruce Banner and the smash-tastic Incredible Hulk.

The result? The new Hulk has become a celebrity, and Ant-Man is feeling a little left out. (Spoilers ahead.)

I must admit, I'm not entirely sure what the point is of releasing this clip. I can't imagine it being enough to entice people to come see the movie who were somehow still on the fence about whether or not to watch it. And this scene isn't close to being one of the film's most exciting or interesting, so nobody is going to watch it over and over again to get the dopamine hit they'd get when watching, say, Cap catch Thor's hammer.

And did you notice that this clip isn't even the full scene as it occurred in the film? Some of the comedy has been removed, since in the actual movie, Paul Rudd's Scott Lang tells the kids to "take the goddamn phone" back after they all have their awkward exchange. Maybe Disney and Marvel didn't want their characters swearing in a YouTube clip? Anyway, maybe someone, somewhere is losing their minds that their favorite moment is now available online and they don't have to wait until the digital release to see it again and again. (Doubtful, but possible!)

In any case, I suppose this scene is a good encapsulation of the overall tone of Endgame: some characters making dour faces, another delivering expository lines about using science for superhero-related activities, and the whole thing interrupted by a moment of levity. That's basically the Marvel formula in a nutshell, and sadly, seeing it out of context in a clip like this just draws more attention to the structure of it for me. (It all works much better in the context of the film itself.)

Avengers: Endgame is still in theaters, and will be streaming exclusively on Disney+ by the end of 2019.