There's been a lot of speculation that the first trailer for Avengers 4 will be online sometime this month but an Instagram Q&A with co-director Joe Russo has cast some doubt on that. The filmmaker confirmed that we "may or may not" see it before 2019 but there is, of course, a chance that he's just trolling us and it will be online around the same time the Avengers: Infinity War one was.
Hilariously, the filmmaker also started to reveal the Avengers 4 title before the live feed abruptly cut off, making it clear that Marvel Studios is going to keep us waiting for that big reveal.
Other interesting pieces of intel include the fact that the stakes will be "100% higher" in the sequel, while the current runtime is said to be three hours. However, as Avengers 4 is only halfway through the editing process according to Joe, that's no doubt going to end up changing in the coming months.
So, nothing mind-blowing was revealed during the Q&A but we know more about the movie now than we did 24 hours ago, so that's something.
It's definitely troubling to think that the trailer might not be with us in 2018 but it wouldn't really make that much sense for it to be held off until next year as it's not like Disney has a big release coming in January to pair it with!
Click on the "View List" button below for a breakdown of
everything we know so far about Avengers 4!
Funeral For A...Hero?
In October 2017, a casting call went out for "mourners," a surefire sign that we're going to see a funeral in Avengers 4. This could be for multiple characters but seeing as there was no mention of a funeral, it's also possible that the Russos were just looking for a lot of sad people for scenes which will kick off the movie, showing the aftermath of Thanos snapping his fingers and wiping out billions of lives.
However, there's no way we're not getting at least one permanent death in this movie, so don't be surprised if we do have to end up bidding farewell to a fan-favourite (more on that a little later...).
Tony Stark, Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While we know that Avengers 4 will take us back to the events of The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. has been spotted on set in at least two different S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms, and while it's feasible the time-travelling leader of Earth's Mightiest Heroes might just be trying to blend in, speculation is mounting that the movie could end with him retiring his Iron Man persona and instead reforming S.H.I.E.L.D. and becoming its new Director, something there is actually precedent for happening in the comic books.
More Time-Travel Evidence?
Ant-Man and The Wasp shot at pretty much the same time as Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers 4 so there could be an explanation for this photo. When Evangeline Lilly shared an Instagram post of herself with the hairstyle Hope Van Dyne had in Ant-Man, many of us assumed that we would meet a younger version of the hero in the fourth instalment, something which again seemed to point to time-travel.
Since then, we've seen Ant-Man and The Wasp and that movie obviously featured a flashback to 2015-era Hope so that could debunk this particular theory. However, seeing as so much of Avengers 4 will revolve around Ant-Man and his apparent trip to the past, it's feasible he'll track is friend down.
The Twins
No, I'm not talking about Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch! A casting call went out last year from Marvel seeking two-year-old twin boys and while it's possible Marvel needs only one of them (twins are frequently used in Hollywood to get around the fact children can only work limited hours on set), speculation is running rampant that we're going to meet the children of The Vision and Scarlet Witch.
Kevin Feige's comments about Cassie Lang's future proves that he's thinking ahead, so it's entirely feasible that he's planning to introduce child versions of these future members of the Young Avengers.
An Unexpected Ally For Nebula
Before Avengers: Infinity War was released, Karen Gillan said in an interview that Nebula would have a new "BFF" and that, "it's brilliant and unexpected and just so good." Well, we saw nothing like that in the movie so it must be a plot point which will play out in the fourth instalment. Iron Man is one possibility considering the fact the two of them are stuck on Titan but seeing as the leaked concept art showed her alongside The Avengers, it could actually be pretty much anyone from the team!
Last Avenger(s) Standing
We have to take Reddit rumours with a pinch of salt but when enough of them say the same thing and seemingly have a decent enough track record, they are at least worth considering. With that in mind, take this with a pinch of salt but it's said that only two of the original six Avengers will survive this fourth instalment, meaning that four of them will ultimately meet their maker next summer.
Honestly, I find that hard to believe but it would certainly lead to a very different looking Phase 4.
The Return Of A Key Iron Man 3 Character
Rumour has it that Ty Simpkin will reprise his Iron Man 3 role as Harley, the youngster Tony Stark befriended after finding himself without his armour and on the run from The Mandarin. The threeqeul ended with Tony gifting him a lab of his own but what on Earth could lead to him returning in Avengers 4? Your guess is as good as ours at this stage but a reunion between these two could be fun!
Return To The New Avengers Facility
Avengers: Age of Ultronended with Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembling in the New Avengers Facility with a massive "A" logo standing proudly behind them. Well, both Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans have shared set photos with that in the background and it now appears as if we should expect to return to that location in Avengers 4, possibly when another new team finally assembles.
While we did return to this location in Avengers: Infinity War, we saw nothing resembling that logo, so chances are it will factor into the next movie in what will hopefully be a very memorable way.
The Vision Returns
Various social media posts have pointed to Paul Bettany's Vision being part of Avengers 4 and some "leaked" concept art surfaced around the same time as that promo art which showed a white version of the android. Throw in the fact that Avengers: Infinity War ended with the hero a greyed out shell and it would make sense for him to be rebuilt and return, this time without any emotions.
That happened in the comic books at one point and it would be an interesting fate for the hero. After all, Shuri performed at least some of the surgery, so he could be brought back with a new power source but minus the love for Wanda which originally drove him. Here's hoping we get clarification soon!
"Jack" And "David"
We haven't heard many casting details for Avengers 4 but we didn't know who was voicing the Black Order until days before Avengers: Infinity War was released so that's no great surprise.
At one point, we learned that Marvel was looking for a short Asian man in his 40s/50s to play "Jack" and an African American in his 20s/40s with a light skin tone to play "David" (to be specific, they were looking for photo doubles). These could be doubles for any number of characters - both existing and new - so it will be very interesting seeing whether these are key additions or not even noticeable.
Happy Hogan Will Return...Maybe
Jon Favreau's Avengers: Infinity War scene was cut but the director/actor has claimed that he will appear in the fourth instalment and set photos have seemingly pointed to that being the case. The sequence will more than likely revolve around Happy Hogan, Tony Stark, and Pepper Potts, while set photos seemingly pointed to some sort of tearful farewell between the trio. Time will tell!
Captain America Wields The (Original) Mjolnir
Perhaps this is just wishful thinking but one consistent details we've heard is that Captain America will wield Mjolnir in a battle against Thanos despite the fact that it was destroyed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Bear in mind that the original hammer has been spotted on set and time-travel could end up bringing it to the present for Steve Rogers to use to hold off the villainous Mad Titan.
This would be a lot more satisfying than seeing Cap use Stormbreaker and it's something which was teased way back in Avengers: Age of Ultron so there being some sort of pay off would be epic.
The Avengers Meet Captain Marvel
The winner of an Omaze sponsored visit to the set of Avengers 4 was able to share some very vague details about what he witnessed and it sounds like Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Pepper Potts will all meet with Captain Marvel aboard a spaceship. There's nothing to say that this is their first meeting, of course, but it certainly sounds like this could be a pivotal sequence.
On another note, there's a rumour that Captain Marvel will fight The Hulk at some point in the movie.
Captain America And Iron Man Are The Movie's Frodo And Sam
In our last breakdown, we told you that Thor will attempt to assemble an army in this movie and comparisons regarding his quest have been made to Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. Bizarrely, it's also said that we'll see a Sam and Frodo style partnership and that that will feature Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, something which should be immensely satisfying as they attempt to repair their friendship!
Frigga Returns
Interestingly, the stylist who worked on Renee Russo (Frigga) in Thor and Thor: The Dark World was spotted on set and props which bear a striking resemblance to those from the latter movie were also seen. Are these indications that the God of Thunder's mother will return to life or appear to deliver a message to her son? It would certainly go some way in explaining what prompts him to visit Hel...
Hobo Hulk
At the same time those photos featuring moments from The Avengers were filmed, Mark Ruffalo was once again seen on set in his mo-cap costume. However, he was carrying a bindle (the bag on a stick you see stereotypical hobos carrying in films) and there's a lot of speculation about whether or not we're getting a scene revealing where he went after the events of the 2012 movie - which doesn't make a huge amount of sense as Bruce left with Tony - or his final scene in Avengers 4 in the present.
So, there you have it, that's pretty much every single leak, rumour, and spoiler you need to know about Avengers 4. Official details will hopefully be here soon but check our parts 1 and 2 below: