When the dust settles from next year’s Avengers 4, will there actually be a formal team roster at all? For all Infinity War may carry the “Avengers” brand, the reality is the Avengers haven’t existed as a team since 2016. Captain America: Civil War saw the team break apart into two factions. Steve Rogers, Falcon, and Black Widow wound up on the run, remaining active as unlicensed vigilantes. Tony Stark, for his part, initially attempted to reform the Avengers; but he gave up after Spider-Man turned him down, and in the face of Vision’s apparent disinterest. The official Avengers: Infinity War Prelude comic ended with Stark alone, convinced the world was still in danger, but giving up on the idea of the Avengers once and for all.

There’s a sense in which the Avengers have become far too controversial. The team was involved in a number of high-profile incidents, and the public began to fear they were out of control. Superheroes were no longer admired; now, they were feared, largely because superhero battles tend to cause a great deal of property damage - and mistakes lead to significant loss of life.

But will Avengers 4 change that? Will the film see the Avengers reassemble, and end with a new team, with a brand new roster? Obviously we’re a year out from the movie, so it’s hard to say for sure. Still, here are our thoughts.

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Avengers 4 is a Last Hurrah

It’s no coincidence all the original Avengers survived the cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War. Next year’s Avengers 4 is being positioned as a thrilling “Last Hurrah” for the heroes who first assembled in 2012’s The Avengers. The stakes have been raised higher than ever before, the “snap” has been used to cut down the mammoth cast of the MCU to a more manageable level, and it’s time for the first Avengers team to save the entire universe.

There’s a sense in which Phase 3’s arc has imitated Joss Whedon’s original Avengers movie. The Avengers divide, bickering, and even coming to blows; they scatter to the winds, failing to prevent the threat manifesting itself; but they finally assemble, taking the fight to the enemy, swearing if they can’t the Earth - they’ll avenge it. The structure of the overall narrative is exactly the same. And that’s a smart move on Marvel’s part, given Avengers 4 will bring an end to a decade’s worth of storytelling. It’s entirely appropriate that Marvel carefully structure their plot in honor to present a homage to what has gone before.

A number of key contracts are set to expire after Avengers 4, meaning this will be the last time the original Avengers stand side-by-side. Infinity War may have been teased as “the end,” but in truth Avengers 4 is the film that’s really the end of the Avengers.

The Logistical Problems of Avengers Movies

Meanwhile, it’s important to understand the Avengers movies are becoming a logistical nightmare for Marvel. The Avengers films aren’t simply “team movies.” Rather, they’re a celebration of everything Marvel has done to date. So The Avengers tied up plot threads from the first four years of the MCU; Avengers: Age of Ultron drew the heroes together once again, and set up Phase 3 with the battle of Sokovia; and Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 resolve an arc that’s been running for the last decade. They also feature every single character Marvel’s created on the big screen over the last decade.

The problem is these films are becoming unwieldy. They demand a cast that’s staggering in size, with some major star power - from Robert Downey Jr. to Chris Pratt, from Benedict Cumberbatch to Brie Larson. That makes them both expensive, and difficult to film, because Marvel need to find a way of making countless schedules coincide. Even this year’s Avengers 4 reshoots will be difficult to schedule. If any feature Tom Holland, for example, then getting him to Atlanta to film the reshoots will disrupt the filming schedule for Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Given these logistical problems, it’s no wonder Marvel is toying with abandoning the “phased” approach. What’s more, the studio is even considering trying to establish another brand for their movies, one to rival the Avengers franchise. We don’t yet know much about those plans, but it suggests Phase 3 may actually lead to Marvel shelving the Avengers films for a while.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Avengers team will come to an end. Marvel could easily choose to end Avengers 4 with a formal team, but simply not release an Avengers movie for a while; give the concept a rest, have the heroes operating in the background of the usual solo hero films.

Page 2 of 2: Who Could Be in the Next Avengers Team?

Who Could Star In The Next Avengers?

Assuming there is a formal team of Avengers, who’s actually left? It seems reasonable to assume Avengers 4 will be the end of the road for a number of the classic Avengers, whose contracts are coming to an end. So we can presumably say farewell to Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, the two heroes who’ve really dominated the MCU’s first three phases. Black Widow will presumably stay alive; even if the Black Widow movie is a prequel, it would be rather odd releasing that film a couple of years after killing the character off. And the Hulk will likely stick around, given Mark Ruffalo has at least one more movie on his contract after Avengers 4. Hawkeye’s unlikely to remain an Avenger. Even if Hawkeye survives Avengers 4, the character’s long-term arc has basically been one of a hero who’s desperately trying to retire!

The future of the MCU seems to belong to four heroes, so it’s reasonable to assume they’d be major players in any future Avengers team. Spider-Man, naturally, is a major part of this - the Homecoming sequel will essentially introduce viewers to the post-Phase 3 MCU - so it would make sense for Peter Parker to become an Avenger in the aftermath of Thanos’s defeat. What’s more, involvement with the Avengers may well explain why the Homecoming sequel involves Spider-Man crossing the globe, rather than being based in New York. As an Avenger, the wall-crawler’s remit would be global.

Captain Marvel is being positioned as one of the franchise’s most important heroes. She’ll make her big-screen debut in next year’s Captain Marvel, which will presumably explain where Carol Danvers has been for the last few decades, and then will be a major player in Avengers 4. Kevin Feige has described Captain Marvel as one of Marvel’s most powerful heroes. “Her powers are off the charts,” he noted, “and when she’s introduced, she will be by far the strongest character we’ve ever had.” Marvel is clearly trying to build up a sense of momentum around the character, the first female superhero to star in an MCU movie, and that simply has to be going somewhere.

Thirdly, there’s Black Panther. This year’s Black Panther was an unprecedented success. It’s on the verge of grossing $700 million worldwide, and it’s unlikely even Avengers: Infinity War can beat it in the domestic box office. Marvel is already talking about a sequel, with director Ryan Coogler attending a recent summit to chart the course of the MCU’s future. The studio believed Wakanda would resonate with viewers - that’s why the Russos chose to have Infinity War’s entire third act take place in the fictional African nation - but they seem to have underestimated just how much that would be the case. It’s safe to say Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther will become one of the MCU’s core heroes.

The final hero is Doctor Strange. While the character’s solo film wasn’t Marvel’s greatest success, Strange was one of the highlights of Infinity War, proving to be a tremendously effective hero. It’s true Marvel hasn’t seemed to be in a rush to announce the sequel, but the popularity boost of Infinity War will surely mean that’s about to change. Even if Marvel do finally begin work on Doctor Strange 2, though, it’s actually possible Doctor Strange won’t join up. His power-levels are a little too significant, making him pretty hard to write against anything but the most cosmic threats.

These are just the franchise-leading heroes, of course. We shouldn’t rule out other members too. Bucky, Falcon, Valkyrie, War Machine, or even Scarlet Witch. Marvel seem to have long-term plans for Wanda, with Kevin Feige suggesting Marvel’s powers are being retconned back to magic. There’s a reason for that change, so we should expect Scarlet Witch to either be an Avenger, or to cameo in future Marvel movies. Perhaps she’ll seek guidance in the Mystic Arts from Doctor Strange?

At this stage, it’s difficult to know whether or not Marvel will assemble a new team of Avengers at the end of Avengers 4. Whether they do so or not, though, the reality is the studio will probably want to take a breather from these tentpole Avengers movies; they’re becoming a logistical challenge, and complicating production of the rest of the Marvel movies. Of course, there’s no way Marvel will retire the brand forever; it’s simply too successful, with Infinity War on the verge of grossing $2 billion in the global box office. So that means when we get the next Avengers movie, it’s likely to be an even bigger event than any of the films to date.

More: The Biggest Reveals From Avengers 4’s Leaked Art

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