Fans who were previously awaiting the UK release for the Avengers Assemble Blu-Ray DVD in eager anticipation, have been left incandescent with rage due to the decision to omit the director’s commentary or indeed, any extras at all. Eagle-eyed fans have also noticed that a key death scene in the UK version appears to have been censored from the more graphic sequence seen in the theatrical release, adding further fuel to the fire.

The official word from Disney is that there is no foul play and the two versions are the same but with several websites using screen captures to prove that this is simply not the case, they really aren’t doing themselves any favours here. Avengers Assemble‘s success was huge; Disney had to know there would be a massive fanbase looking forward to uncovering the usual deleted and behind-the-scenes tidbits expected of a film that has had this much publicity.

This smacks of a dirty ploy to entice fans of The Avengers franchise to buy the DVD before Disney cynically release a “special edition,” which will almost certainly include the extras that should have been on the DVD in the first place. With no fanbase out there more pedantic than comic-book fans, Disney have displayed a stunning lack of understanding towards their very large and very annoyed target audience. Fans have taken to the internet in their droves with some pretty vitriolic rants and at present there are 119 negative reviews out of 265 on Amazon, with the lack of special features cited as the main problem. Here are a few samples:

“I am boiling with FURY. I ordered the Blu-Ray only to later discover that tonnes of extras have been omitted. This is in STARK contrast to the US release. Disney really kept LOKI about this. No doubt there will be another release further down the line with a “Special Edition” banner all over it.”

“This is completely unacceptable and shows nothing more than contempt for UK customers, especially considering the movie in question.”

“Disney has just ruined what could have been the best release of the year.”

Over to you Disney.