Was Avengers: Endgame Inspired By This Classic Star Trek Episode?

"Avengers: Endgame" is arguably the biggest movie of all time. It's the fitting conclusion to over 20 different films, bringing together characters from varying franchises to have them team up against the universe-altering threat that is an Infinity Stone-powered Thanos. It all leads to one of the most brilliant climaxes of all time when the heroes walk through portals to take one last stand against Thanos, and you can't really call yourself a Marvel fan unless you stood up in your theater to cheer as it's revealed that all the heroes who were dusted in "Infinity War" were back and ready to fight. 

"Endgame" was packed with fan service, almost as a way of rewarding those who have been with the series from the very beginning. That was evident from the "time heist" plotline where the Avengers travel back to various points in time to retrieve new Infinity Stones. It functions as a way to reflect on what's come before and give the superheroes one last hurrah before many of them meet poignant endings. As it turns out, they didn't get that idea out of thin air. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige took inspiration from a surprising source for the time-bending storyline.

There's an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" where we meet Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in the present day. He begins having flashbacks to seven years prior, and from there, the story jumps forward 25 years in the future when the various members of the U.S.S. Enterprise have gone their separate ways. It gives the audience a chance to reacquaint themselves with the characters the way they know them, as well as see where they ended up in the long run. 

According to Feige, the episode served as an essential jumping-off point when crafting the storyline for "Avengers: Endgame." After all, the blockbuster film also starts in the present in the immediate aftermath of Thanos wiping out half of the population. We then jump forward five years into the future before the characters travel back in time to some of their previous adventures. Feige confirmed that "Star Trek" did, in fact, play a role during a recent Vudu screening of "Endgame" (via ComicBook.com). He took to Twitter to clarify, "I liked the idea of allowing our characters to evolve. When I was a kid, the finale of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' did this very well, and more recently, 'Veep' did a great job."

It's fitting to look toward series finales of TV shows to craft "Endgame." While the Marvel Cinematic Universe still goes strong, "Endgame" was the end of an era. It marked the conclusion of the Infinity Stone saga, and now, there are ample stories this universe can tell outside of framing devices of the past.