Fans of art house movies were in for a blockbuster surprise today, as the Tribeca Film Festival announced that Marvel’s summer tentpole feature, The Avengers, will be closing out the week of indies, docs, and foreign flicks on April 28th.

According to a press release sent out today by the cinematic event created by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff after September 11th, the cast of The Avengers (directed by Joss Whedon) will be keeping with the “spirit of the Tribeca Film Festival.”

“…the screening will allow the opportunity for Marvel’s The Avengers to celebrate everyday heroes from police agencies, fire departments, first responders and various branches of the U.S. military. These local heroes will have an opportunity to attend the screening and meet the cast.”

Something tells us that many of those men in uniform will bypass the ensemble cast–which includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson– for a chance to hang out with Scarlett Johansson, who will revisit her role as the Black Widow from Iron Man 2.

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