Infinity War, we hardly knew ye. So begins our wild speculations about Avengers 4, due next spring and ramping up to break our hearts all over again.
Welcome back to Avengers College, class! Summer school is now in session. While I’m likely not done discussing Infinity War yet (I will never quite be done discussing Infinity War), details are already starting to leak out about the super-uber-top-secret Avengers 4.
How totally under wraps and locked down with vibranium chains is Avengers 4? We don’t even know the title yet—the directing Russos have insisted that the title in and of itself is a spoiler—but we do know some (vague) things! A synopsis of Avengers 4 in Licence Magazine said that the movie is “the turning point of this epic journey” and that “our beloved heroes will truly understand how fragile this reality is and the sacrifices that must be made to uphold it,” which could mean, well, anything. (Though I like thinking about “how fragile this reality is” leading to a potentially trippy movie making use of the Infinity Stones’ powers.)
Infinity War and Avengers 4 were filmed back-to-back, and initially were meant to be parts 1 and 2, but now it seems that Avengers 4 is being positioned as more of its own movie rather than simply a sequel—though of course we expect it to address the conflicts begun in Infinity War.
Notably, Avengers 4 has to somehow resolve Thanos’ Snapture, and bring back some of our favorite heroes that we know for certain have continuing contracts with Marvel: Black Panther, Spider-Man, Bucky Barnes, and most of the Guardians, at the very least (Gamora status unknown, but we’re hoping).
Savvy watchers of Infinity War realized after The Snapture that the majority of the heroes left undusted were the original Avengers: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and Bruce Banner. Other important characters remaining are Okoye, Rocket Raccoon, Rhodey Rhodes, and Nebula (Shuri status unknown, but we’re hoping she’s just fine and about to take up the Black Panther mantle for a while). But the core cast all staying alive implies that a good deal of Avengers 4 could see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes working together (perhaps for the last time, sob) to reverse Thanos’ snap. Also, at some point, Carol Danvers will likely arrive to save the world.
Considering how much we don’t know, every little potential detail is getting parsed and analyzed. Such is the case with a picture of an alleged Avengers 4 crew jacket. The colors at play have some fans and writers speculating that this suggests an emphasis on one hero in particular:
Yes, as CBR points out, that purple and black might well point to Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye/Clint Barton, as those are his traditional colors. If you recall, the Russos trolled everyone epically by first not including any promotions of Hawkeye after the initial trailer/poster, and then implying that he still had an epic, mysterious role to play—only for Clint not to show up in Infinity War at all. It’s mentioned in passing that he and Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, took a deal with the government on account of their families and were essentially living under a kind of house arrest.
But post-Infinity War, any government agreements—if governments remain intact at all—are likely null and void with half the galaxy vanished, and if Clint lost members of his family, he’ll be keen to join the fight. If he lost his whole family, this could explain all of the rumors that he’ll be taking up the “lone Samurai” Ronin identity. While we initially believed that this would be a plot point in Infinity War, it now makes even more sense if it happens in Avengers 4.
The screenwriters have already confirmed that Hawkeye will have a bigger role to play in Avengers 4, but seeing as how he had zero role this time around, who knows what that means? Kevin Feige stated that “there are big, big story things coming up for Hawkeye,” but frankly I trust no one at Marvel anymore to play straight with us.
I expect we’ll definitely be seeing Clint Barton in Avengers 4, possibly rejoining his old team or possibly embarking on a quest all his own. The color scheme above, however, might just be pointing to another purple-oriented dude, Thanos. Considering the general lack of love Hawkeye has received from the franchise, I think Thanos is more likely, but hey, you never know. Clint wears his violet hues much better.
Meanwhile, while the movie’s title continues to be a mystery, some folks are pretty confident that it’s Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet. Okay, class, for homework: what do you think about this supposed logo, and if it is a Hawkeye reference, are you ready to see a big part for Clint or were you okay with his house arrest?
UPDATE: Our commenter points out that purple and black can also be Black Panther’s colors. While it’s unknown how much of a role T’Challa has in Avengers 4 since he’s among The Dusted, maybe this could be a nod to Marvel expanding that part after Black Panther‘s phenomenal success? All of your speculations, give them to us.
(via CBR.com, image: Marvel Studios, Marvel Comics, Amazon.com)
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