The Avengers is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The sixth Marvel Cinematic Universe film is produced by Marvel Studios and released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Written and directed by Joss Whedon, the picture stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson as the Avengers. Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. enlist Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, and Thor to stop Loki from conquering Earth in the film.

The film began development in April 2005 with a Merrill Lynch loan to Marvel Studios. After Iron Man’s success in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers will reunite Tony Stark (Downey), Steve Rogers (Evans), Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), and Thor (Hemsworth) from Marvel’s previous films in July 2011.

After casting Johansson as Natasha Romanoff in March 2009, the project was delayed until 2012. Whedon joined in April 2010 and revised Zak Penn’s screenplay. Production began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April 2011, moved to Cleveland, Ohio in August, and New York City in September. Over 2,200 visual effects shots are in the film.

The Avengers, the final film in Phase One of the MCU, debuted in Los Angeles on April 11, 2012, and was released in the US on May 4. Whedon’s directing, writing, visual effects, action scenes, acting, and musical soundtrack earned the picture multiple accolades and nominations, including Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for visual effects. It broke box office records by making over $1.5 billion worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing picture of all time, the highest-grossing film of 2012, and the first Marvel film to sell $1 billion in tickets. Empire magazine voted The Avengers one of the 100 best films of all time in 2017. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019) are sequels.