“Everything We Know about … ” is Paste’s series of deep dives into the forthcoming projects we’re most excited about. Explore them all here.
Avengers 4, or as it is officially currently referred to, Untitled Avengers Sequel, has become easily one of the most anticipated films in the franchise to date, with fans everywhere wondering how the studio will continue—definitely stop reading if you haven’t seen Infinity War—after it appeared to kill off half of its stars. Main man at Marvel Kevin Feige has only stoked the flames by saying that the film will “bring things you’ve never seen in superhero films: a finale.”
However, Marvel Studios has been impossibly secretive about the forthcoming conclusion to the Avengers as we know them, from making announcements only to later rescind them to (kinda) spoiler-proofing Mark Ruffalo.
Dude, it’s too late – already sent the final show to Burbank for air. Are you sure you’re gonna be in trouble? We could maybe bleep it out. What is “DM”? https://t.co/GMds1hGO8X
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) October 5, 2018
Mark, you’re fired.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) October 6, 2018
Admittedly, the following is a combination of what we know, what might happen and maybe a little bit of what we hope will happen. Regardless, read on for all the information we have on Avengers 4 so far.
What is it called?
Despite being a sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, the title is not going to be Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 as originally expected.
The title was walked back in 2016, with director Joe Russo telling Uproxx, “The movies are two different movies. The intention is we will change it, we just haven’t come up with the titles yet.”
Who is in the film?
IMDB has published a list of actors who will be in Avengers 4 including, but not limited to, the following:
Karen Gillan (Nebula), Brie Larson (Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Evangeline Lilly (Hope van Dyne/The Wasp), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa/Black Panther), Gwyneth Paltrow (Rescue/Pepper Potts), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Ty Simpkins (Harley Keener), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Paul Rudd (Ant Man), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Winston Duke (M’ Baku), Benedict Wong (Wong)
For the most part, the cast has remained hush-hush regarding the forthcoming film. Renner, however, took to Instagram to celebrate/ominously hint at his return to the MCU.
You’ll notice quite a few of these characters turned to dust following the events of Infinity War. This brings us to …
Who lives? Who dies?
At the end of Infinity War, Thanos snapped his fingers and just like that, the MCU lost Black Panther, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Star-Lord, Groot, Drax, Mantis, Nick Fury and Maria Hill.
Whew. Still hurts.
Thankfully, one look at Marvel’s forthcoming releases offers some hope for a few of these characters. With Spider-Man: Far From Home scheduled for release just months after Avengers 4, it’s likely we’re going to see more of Tom Holland’s teenage superhero. Further, a sequel to Black Panther and a third Guardians of the Galaxy movie are both expected at some point (though the former is on precarious ground following the firing of longtime director James Gunn), so there’s a decent chance Black Panther, Star-Lord, Groot, Drax and Mantis will all return in some way.
Interestingly enough, those surviving Thanos’ snap—the original Avengers team, composed of Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, Thor and probably Hawkeye, though he’s unconfirmed—are among the most likely to not make it out of the sequel alive.
Avengers 4 marks the end of Phase Three of the MCU, and all Marvel movies following are expected to constitute a distinct new era for the franchise. This means that Avengers 4 is probably going to give the studio’s leading heroes one final hurrah, one last chance to save the day, before wrapping the group’s joint story up with a bow and moving on to this next era.
Further, a few of these actors—namely Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson—are all at the end of their Marvel contracts following Avengers 4. While Hemsworth and Johansson have both expressed interest in coming back if asked (with a Black Widow film on the horizon already), Downey Jr. and Evans are definitely wrapping up their time with the franchise, with the former literally extending his contract specifically to star in this final movie before calling it quits, and the latter bidding goodbye to his character after wrapping on Avengers 4 in October.
How is this going to work out? Isn’t everyone dust?
There are quite a few theories as to how the dust-ified characters could potentially return, with time travel and the quantum realm—featured in Ant Man, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel—both coming to the forefront.
Set photos leaked in January 2018 showed the cast returning to the Battle of New York set from 2012’s The Avengers, with both Captain America and Thor wearing their original uniforms from the scene. However, Tony Stark is wearing an entirely different uniform, and Ant-Man, who wasn’t even part of the movie franchise at that point, is also suited up and in the scene, both of which support the time travel theory.
This also supports the quantum realm theory, indirectly—as anyone who has seen the ending of Ant Man & The Wasp would know, Scott Lang was left trapped in the realm. Considering his character is definitely in Avengers 4, something is going to have to happen here with that pesky quantum realm.
Who is behind this madness?
Familiar faces are returning to direct and write Avengers 4, with Joe and Anthony Russo (Captain America: Civil War, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant Man & The Wasp, Infinity War) directing, and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (writers of Infinity War) again tackling the script.
When are we going to get more information?
Hopefully soon.
Feige has said that the title reveal will likely be towards the end of 2018 which is, well, soon. This might be paired with the first trailer as well, following a similar timeline to the marketing of Infinity War, which saw its first trailer a few days after Thanksgiving 2017.
When does it (finally) come out?
Avengers 4 is slated for release on May 3, 2019. This comfortably places it after the releases of both Captain Marvel and Ant Man and The Wasp, both of which are featuring characters expected in the fourth Avengers venture (with Captain Marvel potentially playing a big role in saving the day).
What’s the latest?
Marvel shared the Avengers 4 title—Avengers: Endgame—trailer and poster on Dec. 7, also revealing that the film has been moved up from its May 3, 2019, release date to April 26. The trailer also confirms the return of Hawkeye and suggests that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) may have an essential role to play in Avengers: Endgame. See for yourself below.
Check out the new poster for Marvel Studios’ #AvengersEndgame. In theaters April 26, 2019. pic.twitter.com/DFYmIq006o
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 7, 2018
Watch this space for further updates on Avengers: Endgame.