Is a Director's Cut of The Avengers Headed to Theaters?
Posted 06.11.12 by Chris
Despite how awesome The Avengers was, we all knew that director Joss Whedon was holding out on us. Whedon is on the record saying his original cut of the superhero blockbuster was 30 minutes longer than the version we saw in theaters. Even though we'll be able to see Whedon's director's cut on home video this fall, there are Avengers fans wishing they could see Whedon's true vision on the big screen. Well, that wish might come true.
There's talk of Marvel and Disney releasing a director's cut of The Avengers in theaters (and by "talk" we mean pure, 100% speculation — but that's not going to stop us). SuperHeroAuthority.com speculates that Disney and Marvel want to propel Avengers to the top spot of the all-time box office by re-releasing Avengers with 35 minutes of new footage. Would it work?
Recent re-releases have had mixed results. While moviegoers came out for 3-D re-releases of The Lion King and Titanic, they mostly stayed home for Beauty and the Beast and The Phantom Menace. Fox re-released Avatar with just 9 extra minutes of footage, just 10 months after it first hit theaters, but it seemed fans got all the Avatar they wanted the first time around. But Avengers could have a different outcome. Fans seem to be clamoring for more Avengers and, despite its 2-hour-and-22-minute running time, no one has complained it was too long. As of now, there's not even speculation on when the re-release would even hit theaters. Though a re-release would undoubtedly add to Avengers's $572M gross, it's highly unlikely it would push the movie past Avatar ($760M) or Titanic ($658M).
So, would you show up to watch a 3-hour-plus version of The Avengers?