Avengers 4: Release date, cast, time travel and Captain Marvel

Infinity War hits cinemas at midnight tonight.

Fans have been well warned to expect deaths destruction, devastation and some definitive Marvel-lous banter. 

Although the Russo brothers and the studio have stressed that Avengers 3 stands alone as a movie, it is impossible to see how it won’t leave a huge number of questions and some broken hearted fans desperate for answers that only the next movie can give.

Here is what we know so far about Avengers 4.

RELEASE DATE:

Avengers 4 is currently listed for release on April 26 in the UK and May 3 in the US. 

RETURNING CHARACTERS:

Avengers 4 was filming in Atlanta alongside Infinity War, so we already know that Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Ant-Man will be in it, despite rumous that all the first three were possibly going to die in Avengers 3.

IMDB also lists Bucky, Black Widow, Nebula, Black Panther, Drax, Groot and Pepper Potts.

Does this mean none of them will die in Infinity War?

MISSING CHARACTERS:

The AWOL Hawkeye is listed, alongside new entries The Wasp and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. 

A recent comment from Sebastian Stan also mentioned an incredible scene with the biggest ever gathering of charcaters, which also included Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet Van Dyne, Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym and Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury.

PLOT CLUES FROM THE CAST LIST:

The on-set pictures seen so far indicate either time travel or an alternate reality, since Thor has his long hair, Iron Man has an earlier SHIELD uniform and Captain America has not yet become Nomad.

The setting seems to be in New York just after the events at the end of Avengers 1 when Loki’s Chitarri attacked the city. Ant-Man’s presence is a strong clue to time/space manipulation since he can access the quantum realm. 

Will the Avengers go back in time to try and reverse whatever Thanos has done by the end of Infinity War? Will Ant-Man travel back to meet their earlier selves to try and convince them of a threat from the future?

Captain Marvel will debut in her own standalone movie next spring, just months before Avengers 4. Although it is set in the 1990s, it is expected to connect directly into her participation in the grand climax to the first complete Marvel story arc.

AVENGERS 4 TITLE

Zoe Saladana leaked that it was “Gauntlet” but that was quickly denied by the Russos. The directors have asserted that the title will not be released until Infinity War has been “digested” by fans.

Apparently, according to Marvel boss Kevin Feige, the title is a huge spoiler for what happens in Avengers 3 and a big clue to Avengers 4.

AVENGERS 4 PLOT:

Many fans are sure (and equally worried) that Avengers 3 will end with some form of “The Snap” when Thanos uses the complete Infinity Gauntlet to erase half of life in the galaxy with  snap of his fingers. 

As well as the unimaginable loss of life, this also looks likely to be the end of many major superheroes, some of whom are just starting their own Marvel franchises. 

It is expected that Avengers 4 will be some kind of reboot or reversal of the Infinity War ending. Again, many think this ties in to the various time travel/alternate reality theories revolving around Ant-Man and Doctor Strange.

However, the Russos have declared that nobody has come close yet to predicting the plot.

AVENGERS INFINITY WAR IS OUT IN UK CINEMAS ON APRIL 26