The movie I dreamt about in 1978 is now a month away from hitting theaters. I speak, of course, about The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel The Avengers, which opens May 4.

Presumably the comic-book movie to end all comic-book movies, The Avengers fronts an all-star lineup of superheroes: Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Sgt. Nick Fury. Even casual moviegoers know this blockbuster has been in the works for years, with Marvel Studios using post-credits stinger sequences to connect one stand-alone film to the next, starting with Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man alter ego, Tony Stark, meeting Samuel L. Jackson’s Fury in a bar at the tail end of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.

Now, viewers with buns of steel and a vacation day to burn can watch all the dots be connected, in order, as Harkins Bricktown Cinemas offers the Ultimate Avengers Marathon of six movies on May 3, all leading to the midnight premiere of The Avengers.

The lineup begins at 11:30 a.m. with Hulk, followed by:
• Iron Man at 2 p.m.
• Iron Man 2 at 4:30 p.m.
• Thor at 7 p.m.
• Captain America: The First Avenger at 9:15 p.m.
• The Avengers at 12:01 a.m.

The final three will be show in 3-D.

Tickets are $25 and now on sale at harkinstheatres.com/avengers or at the Harkins Bricktown box office. The package includes extra goodies, including two free small popcorns, a commemorative lanyard and a bag o’ swag.

To be honest, I doubt the movie can live up to the 7-year-old me’s idea, but I look forward to it nonetheless. Even if I’m far more stoked for Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises and, yep, The Expendables 2. —Rod Lott