How long should The Avengers be?

[The Morningstar]

If there is already a thread about this, I apologize. Remove or merge if that's the case.

So, this isn't about predictions. This is about how long do you think the movie should be.

I think it's gotta be well over 2 hours. Maybe even approaching 3 hours. We don't want any main characters relegated to wallpaper do we?

It needs to have that epic scope, like a superhero version of Lord of the Rings, you know what I mean?

2 hours just won't cut it.

[Chewy]

1 BILLION minutes

[SuperSAINT]

2 Hours 20 minutes : 00 seconds.

(I'm not watching it otherwise)

[RealIrOnMaN]

3 hours

[The Morningstar]

I was thinking 2 hours 43 minutes 27 seconds.

[Angamb]

2 hours and 10 minutes at the very least.

Thor felt short, in my opinion, and it had less main characters.

So the Avengers need more time.

[Bubonic]

If this movie is to transcend good and be great I believe it'll have to be over 2 and a half hours in order to give everyone a fair amount of screen time.

[Figs]

I pretty much agree with everyone that it needs to be over two hours. The good thing is that we got all the characters introduced before hand with their solo movies, so the movie won't have to spend time with that. Can't wait to see them interact with each other.

[The Morningstar]

I think the movie will focus on Steve more than anyone. Showing him getting acclimatized to this new world.

I get what you are saying though Figs, in that the characters are already somewhat developed. But I think the movie needs to be long enough to juggle multiple character arcs. They all still need a bit more development.

[Figs]

I think the movie will focus on Steve more than anyone. Showing him getting acclimatized to this new world.

I get what you are saying though Figs, in that the characters are already somewhat developed. But I think the movie needs to be long enough to juggle multiple character arcs. They all still need a bit more development.

Most definitely! That was sort of what I meant about them interacting with each other. They'll grow to work together and put aside any differences.

I hope the script doesn't disappoint.

[The Morningstar]

Ahh ok cool I get ya. Like i said before, this should be like LOTR. Those movies did so well juggline multiple character arcs and what not. How long were those movies? They all got close to 3 hours didn't they?

[bored]

It must be seven hours long! And make no mistake, I will sit through that, crying the entire time.

[AndrewGilkison]

It should be however long it needs to be. With all the characters and what will most likely be a big epic "entire world in danger" plotline, it could be LOTR length and not drag. Marvel and Disney shouldn't be afraid of that length as long as they got a good movie on their hands.

[Superhero 101]

as long as inception

[Mako]

I'd say nothing shorter than 2H 30Mins

[VictorShade]

3 hours. At least. Make this the longest movie ever made as I've far as I'm concerned! I will sit through every minute, every after credit scene (by the way, to keep breaking molds, have two of them), for each cameo by Stan the Man (one for each character!), every easter egg, everything !!!!! All with a big goofy grin on my face cause I'm watching the best movie ever, that I thought would never happen!!!!

[itchyscratch]

Definitely has to beat least 2 hours 30 to allow for all the characters interacting as well as getting any type of decent plot and battles in there. As it is I don't know how they're going to fit everything in under 3 hours.

[Spider-Vader]

2:30 at the shortest.

I hope Marvel doesn't feel like they have to cut the time down for the GA. The GA isn't a bunch of retards who can't sit down & watch a movie for that long, look at how much TDK, Avatar & Titanic made. If the movie is good & gets good WOM, people will see it & Avengers could possibly break the Billion dollar mark.

[Guerrilla]

I would like at least 2.5 hours. Full of well developed story arcs and plenty of battles. I would not be so happy if it seemed like the last harry potter movie where to me it felt way too drawn out and did not warrant the 2.5 hour run time. As long as it is well put together if it only ran 2 hours I would prefer that to something too stretched out. But let's hope for a well stocked 2.5

[Doctor Jones]

You guys are all kidding yourselves if you think this is going to be three hours.

I'm guessing 140 minutes or so at the most.

[marvel_freshman]

I've asked this question a dozen times, but never get an understandable answer. Does anyone know how a film's length is determined? I'm not sure if it's a distributor thing, because the longest film Disney has distributed, from my knowledge is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End which was 169 minutes.

[DieSmiling]

You guys are all kidding yourselves if you think this is going to be three hours.

I'm guessing 140 minutes or so at the most.

+1

I'd be shocked if it reached 150 minutes. I think 135-140 is the best realistic fit.

[DieSmiling]

I've asked this question a dozen times, but never get an understandable answer. Does anyone know how a film's length is determined?

Not sure exactly what you're asking. In the most basic, vague terms possible:

A director and his editor create a cut of the film drawing from all their footage based on the script. Typically, based on the script, they already have a rough idea of how long the film will be (generally speaking a script of 120 pages would be 120 minutes). Obviously there's some fluctuation in the editing process.

Obviously, the big concern among fanboys is studio interference and mandates for a shorter runtime. This is particularly common with Fox. Obviously, most fanboys (and movie fans in general) prefer that the director have final say over the cut of the film and its length, as this typically leads to the best quality.

Obviously other factors come into play these days (such as all of the VFX shots, etc.) but that's a very generic explanation of how it goes down.

[Dwarf Slayer]

Iron Man - 126 minutes

The Incredible Hulk - 112 minutes

Iron Man 2 - 125 minutes

Thor - 114 minutes

If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say it will come in at around 2 hours flat.

[marvel_freshman]

Cool, thanks. At first I thought the distributor, or whoever would set a certain runtime, and in the editing process, they'd have to cut & chop to meet that limit. But hopefully The Avengers is long enough.

Not sure exactly what you're asking. In the most basic, vague terms possible:

A director and his editor create a cut of the film drawing from all their footage based on the script. Typically, based on the script, they already have a rough idea of how long the film will be (generally speaking a script of 120 pages would be 120 minutes). Obviously there's some fluctuation in the editing process.

Obviously, the big concern among fanboys is studio interference and mandates for a shorter runtime. This is particularly common with Fox. Obviously, most fanboys (and movie fans in general) prefer that the director have final say over the cut of the film and its length, as this typically leads to the best quality.

Obviously other factors come into play these days (such as all of the VFX shots, etc.) but that's a very generic explanation of how it goes down.

[Excelsior.]

At first I thought the distributor, or whoever would set a certain runtimeIdeally, the director should dictate the running time.

[Quasimod0]

2 and a half hours

[Spider-Fan]

Ideally, the director should dictate the running time.

Rarely does that happen.

[Tony Starkk]

Anything under 2.5 hours would be a disappointment.

[The Morningstar]

You guys are all kidding yourselves if you think this is going to be three hours.

I'm guessing 140 minutes or so at the most.

+1

I'd be shocked if it reached 150 minutes. I think 135-140 is the best realistic fit.

Like I said, this isn't about predictions or what is realistic. This is how long you think it should be.

Honestly, this needs to be well over 2 hours. Marvel would be idiots to try and keep the running time short.

[Iron_Stark]

At least three hours.

Movie needs to be epic.

[demitri_vampiro]

i'm hoping it will be at least 2.5 hours long. this one needs to be big and it needs to feel big. it has all the elements. marvel should take a bigger risk with this one and make it big and epic.
they should have done that with thor as well, since it had the elements and potential to be more epic. at the end it fell a bit short. thor was good but i just had a feeling it could have and probably should have been closer to LotR. especially since they kinda had the same opening with prologue and a battle.
so hopefully marvel will go big with this one.

[Doctor Jones]

This movie doesn't have to be three hours. You all think the running time equates to its scale. I know I may be contradicting myself because of what I said on the Thor running time, but I waited to pass judgement until I saw the film and that worked.

All that matters is that the story must be told right. Three hours is too much and too long. It could get boring. I mean three hours? For LOTR maybe, but this could be done in two and a half. I don't even want to sit and watch a three hour Avengers film. It should have a great pace to it that makes us pay attention. This kind of film needs that. Three hours would just take too long. At most, comic book films are at least two hours. I think this will go over that a bit, but it doesn't need to be 3 hours. Will its scope be huge? Yeah, this is a huge movie, but that doesn't mean it needs to be 3 hours.

[Aztec]

Personally I think it needs 3 hours, but given Marvel's track record I highly doubt they'll go for it.

What scares me most about this film is that the budget is only $170M, yet The Dark Knight Rises' budget is $250M. How is that possible? Nolan doesn't even go that insane on FX, and The Avengers has a full CGI main character and, most likely, a massive alien invasion!

[Guhndoi]

I reckon, 2Hrs 29mins 18s.

[The Morningstar]

This movie doesn't have to be three hours. You all think the running time equates to its scale. I know I may be contradicting myself because of what I said on the Thor running time, but I waited to pass judgement until I saw the film and that worked.

All that matters is that the story must be told right. Three hours is too much and too long. It could get boring. I mean three hours? For LOTR maybe, but this could be done in two and a half. I don't even want to sit and watch a three hour Avengers film. It should have a great pace to it that makes us pay attention. This kind of film needs that. Three hours would just take too long. At most, comic book films are at least two hours. I think this will go over that a bit, but it doesn't need to be 3 hours. Will its scope be huge? Yeah, this is a huge movie, but that doesn't mean it needs to be 3 hours.

What makes this any different from LOTR though?

Look at all the players involved; Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk. All of whom have had their own movies previously. None of these characters can be underdeveloped or made to be wallpaper. This isn't like a normal ensemble movie, this is a movie that needs to have 4 lead characters. 4 stars of the show. They all need sufficient time to shine.

Then you figure in the supporting characters and the villains? This movie has gotta have a big running time.

This movie needs to be the LOTRs of the superhero genre. It needs to be the most epic superhero movie ever put to screen. Otherwise, what was all the build up and fuss about?

Maybe not 3 hours, but it has to be well over 2 hours. I'm hoping at least 2 and a half.

[WildcatNC]

It should be 3 hours. If they have to cut it to 2:30 for the theatrical release then fine, just give me my directors cut.

I honestly don't think a 3 hour epic for Avengers would be a hard sell to audiences though. As long as it delivers then all the ADD general audience people will be fine. There is A LOT to show/tell/develop for one movie. Its kind of unprecedented.

In the end though you should let the story dictate the length of the film. Use whatever run time is best to serve the telling of the story properly. I just can't see them doing that in 2 hours or less.

I'm gonna guess that its going to end up at about 2:20 minutes knowing Marvel.

[dodgers2213]

Iron Man has the most development from already starring in 2 movies.

Hulk is interesting, he has had 2 movies and developed in different ways. In TIH we didnt see much of Banner and a lot of Hulk, so we didnt get to know Banner too much. But is there really more to it then a smart guy has a monster inside him?

Thor's character has been developed well through the excellent character interaction in his movie. but may need more screen time because of the situation he is in

Cap remains to be seen on how fleshed out he is in his movie. A good amount of screen time would be dedicated to cap due to is time displacement

We need screen time for Nick Fury (finally), Hawkeye, our villains and their history (whoever it/they may be)

I'd say around ~3 hours with 30-40mins of the movie being PURE action....i let Thor slide with little action because its the origin and hellas entertaining without it and Iron Man 2 didnt deliver as well, and TIH raised the bar for cool as hell actions scenes. Also after all this build up, we're due for some screen shattering, mind blowing action that will rock all of cinema history :wow:

[WildcatNC]

Also after all this build up, we're due for some screen shattering, mind blowing action that will rock all of cinema history :wow:


Exactly. This has to be EPIC and deliver on the promise of all this build up. It can't just be a "pretty fun popcorn movie". It has to FEEL like the culmination of all these movies.


No pressure Joss, none at all. :woot:

[Doctor Jones]

These characters personalities have been developed. Now it's about developing all of them as a single unit and getting along and forming. They will all shine. I'm pretty sure this is going to be over two hours. But it doesn't need to be three. It's not, "It's all these characters and this huge build up dictates a epic three hour long film! It's the only way this can be epic!"

What should dictate the running time is the story. You guys are only setting yourselves up for disappointment.

Nothing is "should be" yet. Wait until we hear more about the story. This is in the hands of the director. He is going to know best possible way of how this story is told.

You would be surprised of how much can be done in less than three hours. Now I do agree, this should be more than two. With what all is going on. Yeah, definitely. But three is pushing it. That is alot of footage. And it's not all action. Most of the time it's dialogue and story driven scenes. I don't want 20 straight action sequences either. Because that can be boring. The finales are usually the longest. We may get a bit more, but not much.

I can understand the worry of this not living up the the hype, but it's not about the length in making it epic. It's about the execution of this huge scope and story. Longer isn't better. Just because this is a huge team up film doesn't make it an exception to how a story is told.

This is epic. But epic doesn't need to mean three hours.

[WildcatNC]

These characters personalities have been developed. Now it's about developing all of them as a single unit and getting along and forming. They will all shine. I'm pretty sure this is going to be over two hours. But it doesn't need to be three. It's not, "It's all these characters and this huge build up dictates a epic three hour long film! It's the only way this can be epic!"

What should dictate the running time is the story. You guys are only setting yourselves up for disappointment.

Nothing is "should be" yet. Wait until we hear more about the story. This is in the hands of the director. He is going to know best possible way of how this story is told.

You would be surprised of how much can be done in less than three hours. Now I do agree, this should be more than two. With what all is going on. Yeah, definitely. But three is pushing it. That is alot of footage. And it's not all action. Most of the time it's dialogue and story driven scenes. I don't want 20 straight action sequences either. Because that can be boring. The finales are usually the longest. We may get a bit more, but not much.

I can understand the worry of this not living up the the hype, but it's not about the length in making it epic. It's about the execution of this huge scope and story. Longer isn't better. Just because this is a huge team up film doesn't make it an exception to how a story is told.

This is epic. But epic doesn't need to mean three hours.



Yea, I said the story should dictate the length of the film in the end. My guess is 2:20 min.

The thread is how long do you THINK it should be though. I say 3 hours. :woot:

[Lord]

more than 2:20 but the ideal would be to have the same lenght as Avatar.

[Bubonic]

Fortunately they have done more than enough to establish all the main characters, we all know and love them and just need to have the formation of the team establish and the conflicts that entails. That is something that the X-men movies didn't have going for them and some of them turned out alright.

[Gamma Ra]

2 hrs and 30 minutes

[Gamma Ra]

2 hrs and 30 minutes

[Spider-Fan]

This movie doesn't need to be 3 hours. Yes, this film will juggle a lot of stories, but do you guys realize what goes into a 3 hour film? I say 2hr 30 mins, tops. I think it could prob get away with 2hr 20mins. This doesn't need to be 3 hours. It is not LOTR, no matter how much people want to think it is. This is a superhero movie with an ensemble cast. It is no more complicated than the original Star Wars trilogy was in structure and overarcing plotlines, and NONE of those films were anywhere near 3 hours. In fact, the longest original trilogy Star Wars film was 2hrs 13mins. The prequel trilogy had 2 films that were just over 2hr 20mins, and guess what? THEY WERE BORING!!!

Now, how is it with all these characters did the original Star Wars films effectively juggle so many characters in less than 3 hours? Because they were well written and didn't waste time. If you made Avengers 3 hours, it would get boring, IMO. Don't get too bogged down in how long the movie should be. It should just be long enough. Not 3 hours like so many of you seem to think it needs.

[alexlachiusa]

140 - 150 minutes would be ideal.

It would feel so rushed if it were under 120 minutes...or it would just be all action and no character development.

[Hypestyle]

it should be epic length, at least 2.5 hours, and even longer in an unrated director's cut dvd.. yes indeed..

[BigThor]

I think 2 hours and 30 minutes will do just fine for a film of this caliber.

[Green Day]

2 hours and 25 minutes

[hugekent]

Gotta be over 150 minutes but probably under 180.

[TheVileOne]

I think it should be under three hours. No longer than 2 hours and 25 minutes.

I enjoy longer movies but for it to be over 2 and a half hours would be pushing it. Go with a longer movie once you know you got the audience hooked.

[lancimouspitt]

I'd like to see at least 2 1/2 hours for the film.
I think it's going to depend somewhat on how they approach what has been set up with the solo films. I mean with Thor are they going to spend a great deal of the time having him still trapped in Asgard with earth desperatley needing his help or are they going to just throw him into the mix quickly to get the story moving along?

[ladyloki]

There is going to be alot to tell in this film so I think two and a half hours would be a good time, so there will be time to set up the story and have the characters come together with out feeling to rushed, I mean they are not going to get along right away. Then there is Loki it will be very interesting to see what he is up to , will be be known right way or will he pop up when we least expect it. I bet is the latter, he will show himself when its all hitting the fan.

[R_Hythlodeus]

about 2 hours

[JB-the-Hunter]

about 3 hours.
1 hour of developing the heroes, 1 hour of developing the villains, and 1 hour of mindblowing action.

[S.A.A.D.]

2.5 hours.

[alexlachiusa]

Wait. Isn't the script 129 pages? The script that was stolen, and confirmed to be real was that long so doesn't that basically mean the movie will be around 130 minutes long?

[Spider-Vader]

Scenes can be added or deleted from the movie during production & post-production. Plus, we don't know how long action scenes could be.

[Gamma Ra]

Wait. Isn't the script 129 pages? The script that was stolen, and confirmed to be real was that long so doesn't that basically mean the movie will be around 130 minutes long?

Well if that's true, you're right, about a minute a page.

[Hypestyle]

I'd like to see at least 2 1/2 hours for the film.
I think it's going to depend somewhat on how they approach what has been set up with the solo films. I mean with Thor are they going to spend a great deal of the time having him still trapped in Asgard with earth desperatley needing his help or are they going to just throw him into the mix quickly to get the story moving along?

2.5 hours.. epic length or die! 90 minutes would be abominable..

[Mako]

Atleast 2.5 hours.

[herolee10]

If Disney can allow the likes of Pirates to have 2 and a half hours, then they should do the same for Avengers.

[Avenger]

The movie will be as long as it needs to be. I think it'll be the longest of Marvel's movies thus far, but still under 2.5 hours. I'm gonna guess it'll be around 2 hours and 10-15 minutes.

[KalMart]

2 hours on the dot. Maybe 2:10 at the very most.

[JB-the-Hunter]

2 hours on the dot. Maybe 2:10 at the very most.
If you're right, I will be severely disappointed. This isn't just another solo film, this movie first has to get all of the characters together which could take the whole movie to do if they wanted. They also have to develop the villains, and if it's actually Loki, Thanos and Skrulls like most people seem to think that would need a lot of development time.

IMO runtime is a big factor in how truly epic a movie is. LOTR, my favorite 3 films of all time are all 3+ hours, The Dark Knight, which many consider the best Superhero movie of all time is 152 minutes, Return of the Jedi is 134 minutes... blah blah blah and so on... you get my point.

[Spider-Vader]

Someone should tell Disney this, the longer the movie the longer they can advertise merchandise. :oldrazz:

[Spider-Fan]

Well, Disney is distributing this. I think this bodes well for a longer runtime. Look how long all the Pirates movies are!

[JB-the-Hunter]

Someone should tell Disney this, the longer the movie the longer they can advertise merchandise. :oldrazz:
Also longer movie = less film shown before hand

[docdoc]

with a budget of 140 millions, I don't see a movie over 12x mins running time~ I know, I know the two are not necessary related, just saying

[JB-the-Hunter]

I thought the budget was 200 million

[Mrpaul]

Roughly 150min. to 180min.

[psylockolussus]

150 minutes

[Nevincer]

2.5 hours+ is the only way you can do a movie like this justice IMO Think LOTR and it's massive ensemble.

[Spider-Vader]

Also longer movie = less film shown before hand

With 2 of the Pirates movies grossing a billion dollars & one that got extremely close to that mark, I doubt Disney thinks less showings is a problem. If the movie is entertaining, the audience will eat it up.

[Weadazoid]

2 hour and 30 minutes



look TDK feels longer then that, but thats becuase of the intensity of that 2 hour and 30 minute film




Avengers can feel longer then it actually is, if they bring it and oh..... at this point Marvel can really bring it

[UnionJack]

1week or just sit me down and never let me leave :D

[StarkTheProdigy]

This needs to be at least 2 1/2 hours. It's going to be a big movie, and if rushed it'll be a total disaster.

[joker1524]

Iron Man - 126 minutes

The Incredible Hulk - 112 minutes

Iron Man 2 - 125 minutes

Thor - 114 minutes

If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say it will come in at around 2 hours flat.

yep thats my guess as well, only marvel movie i have seen that went over 2 hrs was spiderman 3:woot:

[psylockolussus]

150 minutes!

[DoubleM]

I'm going for a True cliff Hanger one part told 2013 and a rap up movie for 2014.

[JB-the-Hunter]

yep thats my guess as well, only marvel movie i have seen that went over 2 hrs was spiderman 3:woot:
Just because the solo movies were only that long doesn't mean this huge epic has to be.

[DyeLorean]

I would really like it to be 2 1/2+ hours long. It should be considered an epic movie much like LOTR.

[glorynation]

2 hours and 15 minutes on the dot.

[kedrell]

2 & 1/2 to 3 hrs IMO. Of course it's always true that it should be as long as it needs to be to get it right. Of all the 5 MS movies so far, I thought Thor & TIH needed a bit more time added.

[DyeLorean]

Yeah, Thor definetely needed more time.
And Iron Man 2's freaking final battle was 10 seconds long.

[kedrell]

IM2 needed more rearranging of priorities than extra screen time, IMO. Like having less War Machine so Whiplash could get more time. I still loved the movie, but War Machine should have been held off for future movies.

And TIH needed a bit of that cut 70 minutes added back in to flesh characters like Doc Samson out more.

[DyeLorean]

IM2 needed more rearranging of priorities than extra screen time, IMO.

Well yeah, that is true.

[Son of Coul]

While it's true that more running time =/= better movie and I'm refreshed by Marvel's non-bloated blockbusters I really hope this movie has some time to breathe.

What I mean is the number one complaint with pretty much every one of their movies since TIH is that they could've used more time, even just a little to flesh out some storylines/characters. I feel like they really don't get quite that much "breathing time" to just pace themselves a little calmer and not non-stop moving forward. There was a little of this in some nice scenes like Stark watching Howard's videos in IM2 and Thor having a beer with Selvig in his movie. But for the most part everything's just a tad too fast paced.

For example, in Thor him and Loki are being educated by Odin while young and we flash forward to the coronation. That'd be fine, but the way it happens sorta feels like (to me, at least) it just smacks you in the face with the music and big event happening after this more intimate scene, and not in a nice contrasting way. It seems there's a deleted scene with Thor and Loki before Thor heads out to showboat and I think this would've been nice to ease into it smoothly while fleshing the relationship out at the same time.

Another moment would be in Captain America where they discuss marching straight into HYDRA toward the end and Cap says, "That's exactly what we're gonna do." Then BOOM- Cap's riding a motorcycle into camp- which wouldn't be too jarring if it weren't for the fact that he was mid-chase with HYDRA soldiers. You'd think they'd have this cool "revving up for the mission, here comes the big third act showdown" moment but instead it shoots you right in there, and it takes a second to process. With a couple of preparation and "You ready?" shots the transitioning could've felt a bit smoother.

I loved the **** outta both movies, don't get me wrong, but some more breathing room in these films would be nice. It doesn't make it "boring" to have the movie chill out for a minute between big scenes. They do do this, I just feel not quite enough.

[psylockolussus]

I think this one should not have a post-credit scene for a change.

[DyeLorean]

I think this one should not have a post-credit scene for a change.

Why not? I was thinking it could work as a sequel hint for any of the characters or even the Avengers themselves.

[Kryptonian Warrior]

OK, since we know that there are sequels planned for IM, THOR and CA, do we know for sure that they are planning on a second Avengers movie?

BTW, I personally think that The Avengers needs to be at least 3 hours long, just because there are so many characters and there will have to be some sort of character development.

[DyeLorean]

OK, since we know that there are sequels planned for IM, THOR and CA, do we know for sure that they are planning on a second Avengers movie?


Not that I know of, but if the movie does well (critics and box office) I think it could also work as a vehicule for less-known characters to make their debut and then expand the story on stand alone features (but not in a X Men-6-new-characters-per-movie kind of way).
Hopefully, I'd like to see an Ant Man movie by 2013 and then take that character to a second Avengers.
I mean, if they keep it this way (with Ant Man, Dr Strange, Namor and Black Panther making their debuts) I think we're in for a great Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. It's like Geek Land. The thing they're achieving here could turn epic if they keep this quality :yay: