According to what seems to be a very reliable source, Avengers 4 won't be titled Avengers: Forever, Avengers: Endgame, or Avengers Assemble; instead, it's going to be the very ominous sounding Avengers: Annihilation. That's one heck of a choice by Marvel Studios and not one we predicted.
With any luck, an official announcement from Marvel Studios is now right around the corner but assuming this is indeed the title, it actually tells us a surprising amount about what we should expect from the highly anticipated Infinity War sequel which is currently shrouded in an awful lot of secrecy.
So, to check out this in-depth breakdown of what that might mean, click on the "View List" button.
The Other Meaning Of Annihilation
While the most common meaning associated with the word annihilation is complete destruction (not to mention a certain comic book storyline we'll touch on a little later in this post), it has a slightly different definition in the world of physics. There, it's used to describe the conversion of matter into energy and the mutual conversion of a particle and an antiparticle into electromagnetic radiation.
That sounds an awful lot like what happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, right? The Russo Brothers finding a double meaning for the title makes sense and seeing as neither The Winter Soldier nor Civil War adapted the comic books in a particularly faithful manner, it does add up that the filmmakers could use it for a number of reasons, including the one above.
The Annihilation Wave
Annihilation was a storyline which put Marvel's cosmic universe on the map and it helped breathe new life into characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, and even Thanos himself. Unfortunately, it's hard to see how this series could end up influencing Avengers 4 because doing so would mean that Marvel Studios would have to make a movie which is entirely different to what we're expecting.
Pitting a number of cosmic heroes and villains against Annihulus's (the Fantastic Four villain) Annihilation wave, this was an epic tale which featured shocking character deaths and spanned countless titles. Unfortunately, introducing him and the N-Zone doesn't make much sense but there are things here that the Russos could use beyond the title, not to mention how characters are handled.
What This Tells Us About Thanos
In Annihilation, Thanos attempts to play both sides but is ultimately killed by Drax when the hero punches him through the chest. The Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of that character probably isn't powerful enough but someone like The Hulk could certainly finish off the villain that way.
Seeing as Earth's Mightiest Heroes managed to take down both the Chitauri and Outriders, it's also easy to imagine that Thanos will actually have an Annihilation Wave of his own which he'll unleash in a bid to stop Earth's Mightiest Heroes once and for all, especially if they really are travelling through time in a bid to create their own Infinity Gauntlet which can be used to undo that fateful snap of his fingers.
Will The Quantum Realm Replace The Negative Zone?
Since Ant-Man and The Wasp became available on Digital HD, fans have been watching the movie's Quantum Realm scenes over and over in a bid to see if they tell us anything about Avengers 4. Some fans believe that the moment the snap happens, more orange energy orbs surround Scott Lang, a sign that the Soul Stone could be connected to that mysterious dimension in some way, shape, or form.
While I certainly don't think that Thanos will recruit an army from there, the signs are all pointing to the Quantum Realm being responsible for time-travel and Marvel could easily give it a large role in the movie to make up for the fact they can't use the Negative Zone (which is owned by Fox right now).
Why The Title Makes Perfect Sense
There are a number of reasons why this rumoured title makes perfect sense for Avengers 4. For starters, there are clearly two As in that weird photo shared by the Russo Brothers and Avengers: Annihilation makes a whole lot more sense than Avengers Assemble, especially as the first instalment is still referred to by that title in the UK after Marvel Studios ran into some trademark issues in 2012.
The Russos have also said that the Avengers 4 title would "spoil" Avengers: Infinity War and Annihilation technically does given the meaning of the word. Could Marvel Studios have held off and adapted the Annihilation storyline somewhere down the line? Sure, but Kevin Feige has borrowed the names of many popular comic books for these movies so it's no great surprise that it's being used here.
The End Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe As We Know It
Another possible meaning behind "Annihilation" could be the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it is about to end. Chris Evans has seemingly bid farewell to the role of Captain America, while it's clear that Phase 4 is going to look very different as we say goodbye to a lot of familiar faces and the current iteration of Earth's Mightiest Heroes is replaced by Black Panther and Captain Marvel.
What remains of The Avengers will no doubt want to "annihilate" Thanos too and I'm sure the feeling is mutual on the Mad Titan's part, especially after Thor buried Stormbreaker in his chest. Oh, and they killed his children, of course! This may not be the title many fans wanted but it definitely fits the film.
What do you guys think about the title Avengers: Annihilation for Avengers 4? Do you have any theories about how the movie could play out now? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
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