Avengers: Infinity War was the biggest superhero movie of all-time but the signs are all pointing to Avengers 4 being even bigger and more spectacular. In recent months (and even before the first instalment of this two-part story was released), we've heard an awful lot about what's to come in the sequel whether that's come in the form of rumours, spoilers, leaks, or confirmed details from Marvel.
Now, in the first part of a series of features (almost) as epic as Avengers 4, we're breaking down every single piece of information which has been released to bring you a definitive guide to the film.
From set photos to plot details and rumours about where the story is going, you'll find it all here and this first instalment features plenty of intel on those time-travel rumours, the role the Quantum Realm will play, and behind the scenes information and interviews which point to where this story goes next. So, to take a look at these Avengers 4 details, click on the "View List" button below to check them out.
Why Star Trek: The Next Generation Is Important
In various interviews, Kevin Feige has said that the finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation ("All Good Things") inspired Avengers 4 and that may actually tell us a lot about what to expect from the movie. As one Redditor put it, that episode sees "Captain Picard slipping back and forth through time and [finding] out that the reason behind that is he has to save humanity. So in the past, present, and future, he has simultaneously direct three versions of his crew in order to accomplish his mission."
Thinking about what we've seen in set photos, it would make sense for Captain America or Iron Man to take on that role and while it sounds pretty confusing on the surface, the Russos will make it work!
Emma Fuhrmann Is Playing An Older Cassie Lang
Despite Marvel reportedly having big plans for Abby Ryder Fortson, Avengers 4 will use an older version of Cassie Lang for a pretty significant time-jump as 16-year-old actress Emma Fuhrmann will be playing the character here according to That Hashtag Show (who are a reliable source for casting intel).
What we don't know is whether or not this means Ant-Man travels through one of the Time Vortexes Janet warned him about and winds up in some sort of post-apocalyptic future or if Avengers 4 will simply take place years after the events of Infinity War to really drive home the losses suffered.
Avengers 4 May End Up Being 3+ Hours Long
Avengers: Infinity War came in at a whopping two and a half hours but it sounds like the sequel will boast an even longer running time. During an interview with Collider, the Russo Brothers seemingly confirmed that Avengers 4 will more than likely be closer to three hours than two and a half and there's a lot of speculation that Marvel will take note from The Lord of the Rings trilogy by releasing a finale which does run for more than three hours because they know moviegoers won't really mind!
It's All About Captain America And Iron Man
There have been a lot of rumours about Avengers 4 but one thing that keeps coming up is the claim that the movie will heavily revolve around repairing the relationship between Captain America and Iron Man. The Russos have already confirmed that the former will have a larger role to play in the sequel and seeing as they were never reunited in Infinity War, this obviously makes a whole lot of sense.
Having this movie revolve around them will be no bad thing and based on set photos, we'll end up seeing versions of both characters from both the past and present which should be a lot of fun.
The Official Synopsis
Thanks to some licencing materials for Avengers 4, a brief synopsis for the movie found its way online a few months ago and while it didn't reveal much (a longer version will no doubt be released shortly after the first trailer debuts), it makes it clear that Earth's Mightiest Heroes will have to make some big sacrifices to stop Thanos. As a result, expect to say goodbye to even more familiar faces next May.
A culmination of 22 interconnected films, the fourth instalment of the Avengers saga will draw audiences to witness the turning point of this epic journey. Our beloved heroes will truly understand how fragile this reality is and the sacrifices that must be made to uphold it.
Time-Travel
Set photos have shown a number of flashbacks to the events of The Avengers and some even include present-day versions of Ant-Man and Iron Man interacting with the Captain America from the past. On Reddit, there are some huge rumours which should be taken with a pinch of salt which both make sense and could have at least some basis in reality given how reliable the site has sometimes been.
The main one is that Iron Man decides to build his own Infinity Gauntlet in order to set things right and that The Avengers use Scott Lang's access to the Quantum Realm to travel back in time and retrieve the Infinity Stones from various moments in history. Thanos learns of this and sets out to stop them.
Avengers: Forever Is Closer To Avengers 4's Unconfirmed Title
During an interview with Josh Horowitz, the Russos teased the possibility that Avengers 4 will be titled Avengers: Forever as many fans have theorised. To be specific, they said the title might be close to that and fans have turned to the comic books to get a slightly better idea of what exactly that might mean.
In Avengers: Forever, Rick Jones assembles members of the team from various points in time because they're the only ones capable of defeating a certain threat and seeing as set photos have shown a much older Tony Stark alongside the present day Ant-Man and 2012-era Captain America, this adds up!
The Leaked Promo Art
We got our first look at Avengers 4 thanks to some leaked promo art for the highly anticipated movie and it featured a team made up of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, War Machine, Captain Marvel, Nebula, Ant-Man, and Rocket. That's one hell of a roster and it just so happened to also feature some big reveals about where we'll find many of those characters.
Captain America no longer has a beard and is back in his old suit, The Hulk also has a costume now, Black Widow has ditched her blonde hair for classic red, War Machine has bulked up, Captain Marvel appears to be the same age she would have been in the 1990s, and Ant-Man is wearing his suit from Ant-Man and The Wasp. Clearly, there's a time jump between the two movies of some sort.
A Whole New Life For Tony Stark
In the official Avengers: Infinity War magazine of all places, Gwyneth Paltrow revealed quite the bombshell in regards to how Pepper Potts' relationship with Tony Stark is set to change in Avengers 4. "She obviously starts as his dutiful assistant," she said, recapping Pepper's journey in the MCU, "and then the relationship evolves, and now this decade later they’re married, and they have a child."
It could be that Tony managed to find his way back from Titan and is now married with a child or this may even be a spoiler for the end of the movie. Either way, you can't misinterpret Paltrow's words!
Jane Foster's Return May Be On The Cards
We haven't seen Natalie Portman in the MCU since Thor: The Dark World but she was mentioned in Avengers: Age of Ultron and the Russo Brothers refused to reveal whether or not she survived Thanos' snap, something which only served to stir speculation that she's coming back. While the actress once said she was done with Marvel, that could change and it's easy to imagine Jane's area of expertise coming in handy in Avengers 4 as Earth's Mightiest Heroes attempt to track down the Mad Titan.
Those Infinity War Deaths? They Were Real
Despite theories that all those dead characters are simply stuck in the Soul Stone, co-writer Christopher Markus has revealed that those who turned to dust really are dead and gone. "[The deaths are] real," he told Buzzfeed. "I just want to tell you it’s real, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be able to move on to the next stage of grief." Does that mean they're gone forever?
Of course not but what it does mean is that until Earth's Mightiest Heroes find a way to bring them all back, they're dead and won't be leaping out of the Soul Stone to save the day at the last minute.
Avengers 4 = Lost Season 4
Seeing as Hope Van Dyne died at the end of Ant-Man and The Wasp, you'd be forgiven for assuming that she won't have a very big role in Avengers 4. However, the actress did tell Collider that, "We are hitting that [Lost] Season 4 space where everything’s about to shift, and you’re about to lose the solid ground underneath you." This obviously points to the sequel featuring a non-linear plot.
After all, that season of Lost featured flashforwards, flashbacks, and even flash-sideways, so you have to believe that time-travel will ultimately play a pretty major role in the events of this movie.
Scott Lang's Return From The Quantum Realm
I mentioned Ant-Man crossing paths with an older version of his daughter Cassie a little earlier in this post but how will the pint-sized hero return from the Quantum Realm after becoming trapped there at the end of Ant-Man and The Wasp? That we don't know but set photos have shown Paul Rudd running down a litter-strewn street which is actually located very close to where Marvel shot Cassie's home. He looked panicked in those so has likely just returned and is rushing back to find her once he returns.
Captain Marvel Will Also Feature The Quantum Realm
Kevin Feige has confirmed that Captain Marvel will tie into Ant-Man and The Wasp by revealing more about the Quantum Realm, while Dr. Spiros Michalakis - a consultant for Marvel Studios - has confirmed that the concept of both that mysterious dimension will have an impact "Not just for Ant-Man, but also for Captain Marvel and all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe." What does that mean?
Well, common sense says that we could get some sort of explanation about where Carol Danvers has been all these years and why the hero won't have aged a day when she returns to Earth in Avengers 4.
The Battle Of New York
As I've already noted, set photos have shown various flashbacks to the events of The Avengers and specifically the Battle of New York and its aftermath. A briefcase labelled B.A.R.F. was spotted and that's obviously a reference to the tech Tony Stark used in Captain America: Civil War to revisit a moment from his past, something which may be deliberate misdirection or debunks time-travel.
Interestingly, the heroes in this scenes were covered in dots (for CGI purposes) and shown wearing very strange looking devices on their hands. We also got to see the older, blonde Tony Stark accompanying a muzzled Loki after he's captured and seeing as Tom Hiddleston's stunt double was on set, it seems as if we can expect some action scenes revolving around the God of Mischief in the upcoming movie.
Needless to say, these photos raise a lot of questions but it's now clear that the 2012 movie is going to be revisited quite a bit in Avengers 4 for reasons which will hopefully become clear before too long.
Some MCU Movies Could Be Retconned
One of the most interesting "spoilers" for Avengers 4 to have surfaced on Reddit is that Earth's Mightiest Heroes travelling back in time will essentially retcon many previous Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy as the team will never come together to stop Ronan as The Avengers will get to the Power Stone before them, thereby changing the MCU's timeline.
These changes are unlikely to be permanent but we could see the creation of an alternate timeline which explains some of the other comments throughout this post about time-travel and the like.
The Ancient One Returns
There was a lot of confusion and debate surrounding these remarks from Mark Ruffalo but during an interview with Michael Rapaport, the actor seemingly confirmed that he shared scenes with Tilda Swinton in Avengers 4. How The Ancient One will be resurrected remains to be seen but her spirit could guide the heroes or she could even make a return in some sort of alternate timeline.
Returning To Guardians Of The Galaxy
Zoe Saldana shared a video from the set of Avengers 4 not too long ago showing her and Karen Gillan wearing their costumes from Guardians of the Galaxy. That once again points to flashbacks or time-travel shenanigans and both Ant-Man and The Wasp were also featured in the video (however, that could be because their movie was shooting in Atlanta around the same time as this video surfaced).
Bear in mind that there have been rumours that we'll see present-day Gamora fight her past self, so this social media post could very well confirm that the battle will indeed take place in Avengers 4.
A Flashback To World War II
There have been casting calls for 1960s secretaries for Avengers 4 which is curious, while it's also been reported that Chris Evans has shot scenes on a street decked out to look like the 1940s. Vintage cars have also been spotted on set, so it definitely appears as if Captain America will revisit his past for some reason, possibly to try and avoid the Tesseract being recovered by Howard Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D.
So, there's the first part of our Avengers 4 breakdown. As you've probably realised, we've barely scratched the surface and will be back soon with the next instalment featuring more reveals!