'Avengers Endgame' announces release date in China

The long-waited "Avengers: Endgame," the sequel and final chapter of Marvel Comics' superhero franchise, announced the release date in China via its official Sina Weibo account at midnight on Friday.

Marvel Comics published a poster of the film, together with a date, April 24, and a short slogan: "At all costs!" It means the Chinese fans would be among the first batch around the globe to watch the film on big screens.

The film, which debuts in North America on April 26, will be a record-long 182 minutes, 33 minutes longer than the previous one, "Avengers: Infinity War."

An official announcement on Marvel Studio's Sina Weibo account. /Photo via Weibo

Along with the poster, Marvel released a set of the single superheroes' photos, with survivors shown in color while the dead are shown in black and white. Fans of the dead superheroes jokingly called it "the incident of Marvel Studio's murdering at midnight," saying the photos have broken their hearts. Many refused to admit that their loved ones are going to perish.

At the end of "Avengers: Infinity War," Thanos snapped his fingers and wiped out half of the universe, including a number of superheroes.

A poster of "Avengers: Endgame." /VCG Photo

But fans also expect that those who died in "Infinity War" might return in the new film, as well as the addition of new Avengers, such as Captain Marvel, whose single film was released only a month ahead of "Avengers: Endgame."

Many Chinese fans are thrilled to be among the first batch to watch the film, after suffering from the spoilers during the previous one. "Avengers: Infinity War" debuted on April 27 in the U.S., but did not reach the Chinese mainland until May 11.

A poster of Captain Marvel for "Avengers: Endgame." /VCG Photo

Some left emotional comments under Marvel's Weibo announcement.

"They vanished from China last, but have returned here first. Welcome back!" a Weibo user wrote.