The title of an absurdist play from 1957, it’s also in the title of Marvel’s highest-grossing film

The Final Jeopardy clue for Thursday, November 27 2025 came from the category Name’s the Same, a theme that often brings together two very different cultural references connected by a shared title or phrase. The clue pointed to both a significant work from the theatre world and a defining blockbuster from modern cinema, asking viewers to recognise the overlap between a 1957 absurdist play and Marvel’s most financially successful film. The link between them rests on a single word that has carried meaning across genres and generations.

What is Endgame?

The correct response refers to Endgame, the title of Samuel Beckett’s 1957 play and part of Marvel Studios’ top-earning film, Avengers: Endgame. Beckett’s play is one of the foundational works of the Theatre of the Absurd. First performed in French before being translated into English, the play explores bleak themes of finality, dependency and the remnants of civilisation. Its structure and style reflect Beckett’s signature approach, leaning on stark dialogue and minimal staging to illustrate the sense of inevitability that the word “endgame” suggests.

Marvel’s use of the same word arrived more than sixty years later with Avengers: Endgame, released in 2019. Serving as the culmination of an extensive narrative arc within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film became the studio’s highest-grossing title. While the two works could not be more different in tone or medium, the shared title makes the connection in this category clear. In both contexts, “endgame” signals a decisive moment, the closing of a long chain of events and the arrival at a point of no return.

Understanding the Beckett Connection

Beckett’s Endgame followed the success of Waiting for Godot and extended his philosophical exploration of futility and endurance. The play centres on Hamm and Clov, characters confined to a bleak interior space while navigating a sense of routine that suggests both survival and stagnation. The title reflects a chess term that defines the final phase of the game, when only a few pieces remain on the board and every move becomes critical. Beckett uses that idea metaphorically, suggesting that life itself has reached a stripped-down state where only essential interactions remain.

The play’s debut in 1957 marked its place among the significant post-war works that shaped modern theatre. Critics often note that Beckett’s chosen title frames the narrative before the play even begins, hinting at the characters’ emotional and existential exhaustion. For that reason, the word “endgame” is not simply a title but a thematic anchor for the entire piece.

Why the Title Works for Marvel

In the Marvel context, the title serves a different but equally deliberate function. Avengers: Endgame follows Avengers: Infinity War and brings closure to a multi-film storyline that involved numerous characters and interconnected narratives. The word “endgame” signals to viewers that the long-running conflict with Thanos is nearing its conclusion and that the stakes are higher than ever. It conveys finality in a blockbuster sense, setting expectations for a definitive resolution.

When Marvel released the film in 2019, it quickly became the studio’s highest-grossing production, earning its place in cinema history. Its title contributed to the anticipation and weight of the story, reinforcing the idea that this chapter marked the end of an era for several central characters.

A Title Bridging Two Worlds

This Final Jeopardy clue highlighted a shared title that links minimalist theatre and large-scale superhero storytelling. While Beckett’s play focuses on existential endurance and Marvel’s film emphasises epic action and emotional payoff, both rely on the power of the word “endgame” to frame their narratives. The overlap shows how a single title can carry weight across very different forms of entertainment.

The clue offered a straightforward path for those familiar with either the play or the film, but recognising both references required knowledge spanning theatre and modern cinema. That combination made it a fitting entry for a category built on the idea of names intersecting in unexpected ways.