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Russo brothers tease Avengers 4 title with Instagram photo

Is that ladder an A? Is that shelf an E? And -- hey, is that Homer Simpson?

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read

Are you good at sussing out details hidden in seemingly bland photos? On Wednesday, the Russo brothers, directors of Avengers 4, tossed a Where's Waldo-style challenge onto Instagram and Twitter.

"Look hard... " Joe and Anthony Russo teased in the caption to a black-and-white photo of what appears to be Joe Russo sitting in a chair and looking at his laptop in the middle of an unfinished set. For some of us, that's no clue at all, but naturally, plenty of devoted fans saw more than that.

The general consensus on social media seems to be that there are letters hidden in the photo, but no one could agree on what exactly they spell. "Avengers: Endgame" was one popular nomination, playing off a line spoken by Doctor Strange in Avengers: Infinity War.

The Avengers 4 title mystery has been creating buzz  since before Infinity War was released, with the brothers teasing back in March that the title could be hiding a bloody spoiler.

Some didn't bother to try and untangle the game but had fun tweeting about it anyway, sharing photos of Batman and other characters pondering puzzles.

One fan pointed out that Anthony Russo isn't in the photo, and made a connection to the Infinity War plot events, writing, "Goddamnit, one of the Russo Brothers disappeared thanks to the Snap. Thanks a lot Thanos."

Avengers 4 isn't the only title mystery out there. Fans had hoped Star Wars star Mark Hamill was going to share the Star Wars: Episode IX title on his Twitter account, but it seems Hamill is just having fun with his fans. Naturally, the Russos could be pulling a similar prank, but no one will know for sure until the title is officially announced.

Whatever it's called, Avengers 4 is scheduled for a May 3, 2019, US release.

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