‘Avengers: Endgame’ Has Two Special Cameos for ‘Community’ Fans

The Russos have not forgotten their Greendale roots

community avengers endgame

Marvel fans will be spending all weekend mining through the Easter eggs sprinkled through “Avengers: Endgame,” but the Russos have two special eggs reserved for fans of the cult TV show, “Community.”

Before they jumped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Joe and Anthony Russo were executive producers on the first three seasons of “Community,” and were also the directors of the show’s pilot and several other episodes.

With their Marvel films, the Russos have offered cameos to several members of the “Community” cast. Danny Pudi, aka Abed Nadir, appeared in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” while Jim Rash, aka Dean Pelton, appeared in “Captain America: Civil War,” a film where the Russos took a step further and made one of the mind control commands for The Winter Soldier the same as the title of a beloved song at Greendale Community College, “Daybreak.”

And now, in “Endgame,” the Russos have set up cameos for Ken Jeong, who played teacher-turned-security officer Ben Chang, and Yvette Nicole Brown, who played devout Christian and devoted mother Shirley Bennett.

To avoid spoilers, we won’t reveal too much about the scenes they are in. All we will say is that Jeong appears early in the film in a San Francisco warehouse where Ant-Man makes his first appearance. Brown appears much later during one of Captain America’s missions, encountering him in an elevator while he’s undercover.

But the connection between “Avengers” and “Community” goes even further. Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson, appeared in two episodes of “Community” prior to the Oscar-winning performance in “Room” that landed her a spot in the MCU. In both episodes, she played Rachel, a Greendale student who becomes Abed’s love interest.

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