The Avengers

In an interview with Collider, Joss Whedon revealed that his first cut of The Avengers was three hours long. While initially it was thought that most of these 30 minutes of deleted scenes wouldn’t see the light of day until the DVD was released, we’ve got to wonder if the idea has occurred to Disney and Marvel Studios to release an extended director’s cut of The Avengers in theaters.

Disney has been thrilled with the response that The Avengers has gotten in theaters, especially after John Carter tanked. In fact, The Avengers even has a legitimate shot at becoming the highest grossing movie of all time. The Avengers has already shot past The Dark Knight at $533 million to make it into the third spot on the all time list.

However, the top two spots become a little more difficult as Titanic sits at $658 million and Avatar sits at $760 million. To get to these numbers, Titanic was released as a 3D version, and Avatar was re-released as an extended special edition.

If the Avengers gets close to these totals, but stalls just short of the record, what will Disney do? Holding the title of highest grossing movie of all time comes with its benefits, as it makes for a really good blurb to put on DVD boxes. If Disney were to release an extended director’s cut of The Avengers in theaters in late summer, it could likely jumpstart the movie all over again.

Would you go see The Avengers again if Disney and Marvel Studios re-released it with 30 minutes of additional footage? Should Disney try this strategy if Avengers looks like it might fall just short of the record? Or should the bonus footage be saved for just the DVD?