Earlier this week, the internet was awash with reports saying that the upcoming home video release of Joss Whedon's The Avengers: Age of Ultron would be packed with some very interesting bonus features - including both an extended version of the theatrical release as well as an alternate ending. Now it seems as though those reports may have jumped the gun, as all evidence of these big bonus features has actually gone out the window.
It was because of an email sent out by Amazon UK that got the internet buzzing about an alternate ending and extended cut of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, but they have now been sending around what basically amounts to a retraction letter. Comic Book Movie posted a screen grab of this email, which says that Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios has not yet contacted them about what special features will be available on the official release, and therefore the information "may not be correct." (I guess it's true that the info could wind up being true if Marvel does indeed plan to release an alternate ending and extended cut at some point in the future).
It's funny that fans would be so interested in seeing a much longer or different version of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, if not just because both Joss Whedon and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige have gone on record saying that the longest cut of the movie possible to assemble isn't really suitable for release. The director has gone on record saying that he always intended the film to actually be shorter than the first Avengers, and when I spoke with Kevin Feige recently, he literally assured me that "nobody wants to see those versions of the movie." As a result, it sort of seems like what people really want is just to see more Marvel superhero action, and the studio is certainly willing to oblige, with Ant-Man coming out later this summer, and Captain America: Civil War on the way in a little more than a year.
As it stands, the theatrical cut of The Avengers: Age of Ultron is 141 minutes long, and I can tell you having seen the film twice that it really does fill up every moment of that runtime. Whether or not it includes an alternate ending and/or an extended cut, we can also probably expect the Blu-ray/DVD releases to be packed with extra material that fans can dig into. The home video release doesn't have a release date just yet - it will probably be in September or October - but before you worry about screening it at home, you should get ready to see the mega blockbuster The Avengers sequel in the biggest theater possible this Friday.
