Throughout 14 films, Marvel Studios has made one thing abundantly clear, the Earth is the central planet to their universe. Not only have 11 of the movies solely taken place on Earth, but both of the Thor films are majorly involved on the planet. Guardians of the Galaxy has been the biggest exception with only the origin of Peter Quill taking place on Earth ahead of a full grown Star-Lord and friends visiting multiple planets on their adventure.
This tactic is not entirely surprising as most comics from Marvel or other mainstream publishers follow a similar approach, but in doing so they shrink the universe to revolve around a single planet that not only houses dozens of heroes but is also home to two Infinity Stones. Thanos will be coming to this planet in Avengers: Infinity War and the followup Untitled Avengers, but the entirety of this epic team up will (thankfully) not stay on Earth.
Comicbook had the chance to interview Charles Wood, the production designer on the upcoming Avengers films, who teased the expansion of the universe. Based on his comments, not only will Infinity War and Avengers 4 branch out into the cosmos, but in doing so will introduce multiple new locations.
Any time you turn that page on this script, you’re kind of staggered, blown away, terrified by what’s in front of you. I think rather like Doctor Strange, you’ll find this film, it’s not regurgitative, yeah? What I’m trying to say, is, there are many, many, many new worlds to see in this film.
If a good portion of Avengers: Infinity War does focus on Thanos’ journey from his mysterious hideout to Earth and the gathering of Infinity Stones along the way, there is no question that he will be exploring, and likely terrorizing, multiple planets and species as he travels. While Wood does not elaborate on the duration for which these worlds will be seen, there should figure to be a few that receive serious screen time.
Based on recent speculation regarding Peter Dinklage’s potential role in the films, one of these new worlds could be Nidavellir, the home of Eitri, the King of the Dwarves. However, there are countless possibilities for what specific realms could be introduced. Regardless, it is refreshing to see Marvel further expand the MCU beyond the confines of Earth. It is the Marvel Cinematic Universe after all, so bringing in new worlds filled with new characters - both heroes and villains - makes sense.
Source: Comicbook
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release Date: 2017-05-05 Black Panther Release Date: 2018-02-16 Avengers: Infinity War Release Date: 2018-04-27 Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26