By the time Avengers: Infinity War Part I is released in 2018, it will have been ten years since the inception of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008's Iron Man. The silver screen saga has grown exponentially over the years, recently expanding to the television sector with ABC's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., along with the Netflix programs Daredevil, Jessica Jones, the upcoming Luke Cage & Iron Fist, and the recently announced Punisher. Now, Marvel Studios is kicking off Phase 3 of the MCU with Captain America: Civil War. Phase 3 will conclude with the third and fourth Avengers team-up films, the two part Avengers: Infinity War, which will unite many of the superheroes introduced in the MCU. Marvel plans to unite the Netflix heroes on the small screen in 2018's The Defenders, but many fans believed the epic Avengers two-parter would also include the newest MCU heroes. It turns out that may not be the case.
During an interview with Bad Taste, Joe & Anthony Russo spoke about the massive size of the MCU, but remained coy on the subject of the Netflix characters inclusion in the two films: "The Marvel Universe is sprawling – the Marvel Cinematic Universe is enormous. Just think of all the characters that haven’t been introduced yet that are going to be introduced by the time that we’re working on Infinity War. We have a tough task just telling the stories of the characters who exist [on the big screen] in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, let alone adding the entire Marvel Television universe. Anything is possible in Marvel. It’s certainly something we’re considering. But our focus is on telling the stories of the characters that currently exist on the movie side."
This isn't very surprising, given the rumoured friction between the film and television divisions at Marvel Studios. While this might certainly come as a disappointment to fans, anything can change, as evidenced through Spider-Man's inclusion in Captain America Civil War. Keep in mind, the Russos' comments don't mean that the Netflix heroes aren't part of the MCU; the characters just aren't planned for the Infinity War films. Do you want to see the Defenders in Infinity War? Sound off below!