**Warning Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War Below**
We’re going into some heavy spoiler territory here. If you haven’t seen Avengers: Infinity War yet, go see the film! Come back afterward, and let’s discuss it!
Avengers: Infinity War has had a slough of deaths, both before the iconic “snap” and after. For a complete list of on-screen deaths, check out Dan’s article. But here, we’ll talk about what the remaining heroes have to do to make things right again.
At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the only ones remaining are the original Avengers. Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Black Widow, and Thor survive the snap. We have some other survivors, Okoye, M’Baku, Rocket Racoon, and Nebula. We still don’t know what happens with Shuri, Wong, Ned Leeds, and other support characters we saw moments from in the film.
The thing is, everyone who got snapped out of existence has upcoming solo films. We know for sure Spider-Man is getting a sequel as Feige revealed production begins this Summer. It’s also more than likely we are going to get a Doctor Strange and Black Panther sequel. And Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has already been talking about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with a possibility of Mark Hamill joining the cast. Heck, even more recently we talked about Elizabeth Olsen interested in making a solo Scarlet Witch film! Certainly, characters with upcoming films can’t remain dead. So Avengers 4 will focus mainly on bringing those heroes back, right?
I think some characters are gone for good. Tom Hiddleston was only confirmed for Avengers: Infinity War. And Idris Elba is probably thankful that his character of Heimdall is gone for good, given the actor’s complaints about working for Marvel.
But then again, Marvel could dash my expectations yet again and bring these guys back.
The Title, or Lack Thereof
There was a rumor that the title would be announced at the end of Infinity War – that didn’t happen. The only announcement at the end of the movie for fans was that “Thanos Will Return.”
No movie title. No mention of the Avengers even. The next film might not even have Avengers in the title! Although there are some outlets reporting to the contrary.
We had some inkling of a hint of the next film when Zoe Saldana did an interview and let something slip last year. Also, the Russo brothers have gone in interviews to state that the Avengers 4 title “will wreck you.” They spoke earlier last year about changing the name of Avengers Infinity War: Part 2 because it didn’t represent what the story would be about. The title, they said, “will speak to the heart of the story.”
But then we have Kevin Feige stating in an interview that the next Avengers film will “Just be a name” going on to say “and the reason to hold it back was to keep the attention on Avengers: Infinity War. We’ll see what happens when the first trailer is released.
The Plot
Those of us who follow all the comic book news and what happens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were a bit wary when it came to those “death” scenes. I personally don’t think some of the deaths pre-snap will stick. However, I’ve been wrong on a lot of my theories about the films thus far, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see Marvel completely ruin all of my expectations yet again.
But I think it’s safe to say that the goal of the film will be two-fold. The remaining Avengers will now take the fight to Thanos. When we last see the purple giant, he’s resting from his labors in a hut, looking out at a farm and the sun rising on a new world. How they find him and how effective they’ll be against someone with all six Infinity Stones is anyone’s guess.
The Avengers will also have to bring back those heroes snapped out of existence. It’s hard to tell what exactly will happen, given these two objectives. But the film slate for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is key to understanding what will happen in this next movie.
And a lot of this will hinge on Captain Marvel. Her tease at the end of Avengers: Infinity War leaves a lot of questions. Will she be the key to bringing down Thanos? Will she be the lynchpin that brings our favorite heroes back from the dead? Marvel boss Kevin Feige talked about Carol Danvers being the most powerful being in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How she fares against a potentially fully-powered six-Infinity Gauntlet wielding Mad Titan will be a sight to see.
When is this next film?
It’s also hard to tell how much time will pass between the snap and the events of the next film. We’ve seen some behind the scenes photos of some of the Avengers in their old outfits. There’s some sort of prop they are wearing on their hands. From all the destruction, it looks like a flashback of the battle of New York. And, Ant-Man is on the scene, which is a change-up from the original The Avengers film.
From those set photos, it’s speculated that there may be elements of time-travel in the next film. And since the Time Stone is in Thanos’ possession, Ant-Man and the Wasp might be utilizing the quantum-realm to mess with time. The smallest characters might end up being the Avengers only hope in stopping Thanos from collecting the Infinity Stones. Plus, if they’re introduced at the inception of the Avengers during the battle of New York, it may retcon the history a bit to make Ant-Man and Wasp part of the original team (as it is in the comics).
Also, in these set photos, we don’t see Captain Marvel. Maybe this is more the quest to undo the events that lead up to Thanos wiping out half of the universe. This while Carol Danvers distracts Thanos in the present by giving the Mad Titan a significant beat-down. I’m sure all the fan-theories will start flooding the internet as soon as Avengers: Infinity War has had it’s run in the box office. I’m looking forward to reading all the theories, and even coming up with more of my own!
In any case, we’ll see what happens when Avengers 4 comes out in May of 2019. Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now!