The fans were ecstatic. Even though not a single superhero had appeared yet, they were already so fired up it felt like their blood was boiling in their veins. If they weren't still inside a theater, they'd probably be yelling "Hell yeah!" at the top of their lungs.
And now, with the Tesseract stolen, the superheroes were finally about to enter the scene—called together, one by one.
As fans of each hero held their breath, wondering who would appear first, the elegant face of Black Widow lit up the big screen. Even though her situation seemed precarious, she still instantly commanded the audience's attention with ease.
Laila had adored Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow in her previous life. She felt that Scarlett embodied Natasha Romanoff's bold, fierce energy. If a cutesy, soft-spoken actress had taken the role, she would've never pulled off the femme fatale-meets-mastermind kind of complexity Black Widow required.
The moment she appeared on screen, Roy suddenly reached out and gripped Laila's hand.
She turned to him and saw his handsome profile, breath held, eyes locked on the screen without even blinking.
She knew exactly what he was nervous about—because every single one of Black Widow's action scenes had been choreographed by him. This was his first time working as an action director. Even though he'd only handled fight coordination for one character, it was still a completely new and monumental experience. If this succeeded, it would open up a whole new path for his career. Even if one day he stopped acting, he could still contribute to their film projects in other ways.
And truth be told, he nailed it.
On the screen, Black Widow's movements were smooth and precise—full of power, but never too aggressive or crude. Her fluid grace was perfectly preserved, highlighting a uniquely feminine strength and flexibility.
Laila could hear gasps and murmurs of awe from the audience behind them. She could tell right away that the audience loved this scene. She reversed her hand, grasped his slightly cool fingers, and whispered into his ear:
"You did great. Interested in doing more next time?"
Roy turned to her with a wide grin, lifted her hand, and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
"It would be my honor, Your Majesty."
No compliment could compare to hers. The moment he heard her words of praise, his heart practically soared. He silently thanked whatever force in the universe had brought her into his life—and tricked him into coming to Hollywood. He couldn't imagine what his life would've been like without her. Probably a hellish nightmare.
The movie continued to roll.
Black Widow appeared. Then the Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man followed.
Each time a new superhero made their entrance, the theater erupted in a wave of excitement—suppressed but palpable. Fans knew they weren't supposed to make too much noise in the cinema, but their excitement needed an outlet. It was about to burst out of them. So all they could do was clap a hand over their mouths to avoid disturbing others nearby.
Laila had revised much of this section, too. The only thing she kept intact was Iron Man's iconic landing scene, where he descends from the sky and casually walks while his suit disassembles around him. That scene was already perfect in the original. She knew it would leave a deep impression on the audience—and she was right.
Everyone was having an absolute blast watching. It felt like every few minutes, a new scene would get their blood pumping—and every ten minutes, a moment would arrive that made them want to scream. It hadn't even been half an hour since the movie started, and yet it already felt so full, so satisfying. At the same time, no one felt the passage of time. It was as if the movie had just begun.
Even those who weren't die-hard fans were blown away by the film's quality—and honestly, stunned.
This was the movie that, according to media leaks, had a script finished in just two weeks.
Even if only a quarter of the movie had played so far, their professional instincts told them—it was good. The kind of good that would drive audiences wild. If you didn't believe them, just listen to the reactions in the theater. People were practically in love with this film.
Sure, skeptics could claim these were just superhero or Laila fans, and their opinions didn't count—that they'd cheer even if Laila filmed these heroes playing house.
But the critics knew they couldn't lie to themselves. The quality of the film was obvious, and even just from the parts already shown, the verdict was crystal clear.
It was excellent—with perfectly controlled pacing, hooking the audience tightly in their seats. No one was checking their watches or sneaking out for a bathroom break. As industry insiders, they could see even more than the average moviegoer.
And they remembered something else, too—the Helicarrier that had appeared in the trailers.
People had said back then that just the Helicarrier alone looked like it cost a couple of hundred million to build. It meant a lot of people were going to show up to theaters just to see that.
And they weren't wrong.
Laila's version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was far more grand and imposing than the original—utterly awe-inspiring. Especially the scene where it rose from beneath the ocean's surface—that was legendary, the kind of cinematic moment people would remember for the rest of their lives.
"Cool!"—fans had lost count of how many times they'd said that word.
Not that they were keeping track—because their eyes, their hearts, their entire beings were locked onto the screen. They couldn't spare even a glance elsewhere.
And inside the Helicarrier, Laila had put in even more effort, redesigning the interior to be far more futuristic and visually stunning. Unlike the original—which featured outdated 70s B-movie-style control rooms, full of vintage computers that clashed with the whole "advanced future tech" setting—Laila went all in.
She didn't know what the original designers were thinking. But she couldn't stand it, so she fixed it.
Now, the entire Helicarrier was upgraded with full-scale holographic projection tech, just like what Tony Stark used when designing his suits.
At the very center of the control room floated a holographic model of the Helicarrier itself, surrounded by glowing data readouts. Screens shimmered with real-time statistics, giving the whole space a sleek, high-tech vibe.
At this point in the movie, the initial team assembly was underway.
Before filming began, some professionals had voiced concerns about how difficult ensemble casts could be—especially when every character was an icon in their own right, with strong personalities. The script had to balance screen time, dialogue, character dynamics, and chemistry—one wrong move, and the whole film could fall apart.
The original movie had handled this surprisingly well. Despite each hero having their own powers and style, the story found ways to show they weren't just a bunch of solo acts—many had their own little subgroups, their own rapport.
For example, Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner formed a natural high-IQ duo. Their conversations were full of scientific jargon, complex concepts flying back and forth—totally incomprehensible to outsiders.
It was the perfect example of the meme-worthy phrase: "I have no idea what they're saying, but it sounds amazing."