Marvel Adds Danai Gurira’s Name to ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Poster After Fan Backlash

Zack Sharf

UPDATE: Marvel issued a new poster for “Avengers: Endgame” around 3:45pm ET on March 14 that included Danai Gurira’s name among the top-billed cast. The studio wrote on social media: “She should have been up there all this time.”

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Marvel Studios has dropped the official trailer and poster for its upcoming tentpole “Avengers: Endgame,” and while fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are raving online about the new footage, there’s one thing that isn’t sitting right with them: The omission of Danai Gurira’s name on the official poster’s top credits. Gurira, who is reprising her “Black Panther” and “Infinity War” role of Okoye, is the only cast member who is seen on the poster but whose name has been left off the official top credit line.

Disney has not answered IndieWire’s request for comment over the omission of Gurira’s name. The character of Okoye was prominently featured in “Infinity War” and was one of the superheroes who survived Thanos’ snap. While Okoye was not featured in the trailer aside from flashback footage of her watching Black Panther disappear (a scene from “Infinity War”), she is prominently featured on the poster. Thanos was not featured in the trailer either, yet Brolin is still seen and credited up top.

Read More:‘Avengers: Endgame’ Official Trailer: Marvel Unleashes the Biggest Superhero Event in Film History

One potential answer for the omission might be because of contracts as to who gets top billed and who doesn’t, although it would be odd for Gurira not to be top billed for “Endgame” when her name was up top on the official “Infinity War” poster. Gurira’s name is included on the “Endgame” poster’s bottom roster. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau’s names are also included here, yet neither of their characters are illustrated on the poster like Gurira’s Okoye. That there wasn’t enough room up top is also not an excuse, as 19 cast members were top billed on the “Infinity War” poster compared to the 12 top billed for “Endgame.”

The lack of recognition for Gurira on the poster’s credit line has sparked backlash from MCU fans on social media. Many fans have been left wondering whether Marvel simply forgot to name her or if Okoye’s role is so small in “Endgame” that it’s inconsequential. As many MCU fans have pointed out, Gurira plays a beloved character in the MCU and is the only character in “Endgame” to represent the studio’s breakthrough and Oscar-winning “Black Panther” franchise. That Marvel would leave Gurira off the poster’s credit line is striking many as unusual, even more so since Marvel Studios present Kevin Feige stresses the future of the MCU is in more inclusive superhero stories.

Rolling Stone writer Jamil Smith summarizes the backlash by writing, “‘Black Panther’ star Danai Gurira is the only actor pictured whose name isn’t billed at the top. Her image is larger than some actors who do get that billing. The only one from the franchise’s best and most profitable movie, and yet? Marvel Studios, this isn’t difficult. Fix this.”

Disney will open “Avengers: Endgame” in theaters nationwide April 26.

"Avengers: Endgame"
"Avengers: Endgame"

“Avengers: Endgame”

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