Remember a few years back when Avengers: Infinity War was said to be a two-parter? Eventually, this idea was nixed and it became the third Avengers movie, followed by the still untitled Avengers 4. Even though one of these is due next month, we still don’t really know how the duo will connect to each other. For instance, will they be two halves of the same story, as the original plan suggested, or are they totally individual films?
According to screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the answer to this question is “both.” To them, Infinity War and Avengers 4 are symbiotic and cannot be watched without the other, yet at the same time, they’re intended to be separate entities.
Stephen McFeely: Can’t have the second one without the first one. But our hope is that it’s breakfast, and then lunch.
Markus: It does not feel like you hit pause, and then unpaused it. It is two very different [movies].
The close relationship between the two movies is reflected in the way they were filmed. Both Infinity War and Avengers 4 were made back to back, meaning that it’s often been difficult for fans to piece together what happens in which film from the various set photos and videos that leaked out.
That said, all the signs are pointing to Avengers 4 adding a new angle to the narrative: time travel. Specifically, the events of many previous MCU movies could be revisited, as a mark of how far the franchise has come. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have already hinted that this could be achieved via Tony Stark’s B.A.R.F. technology, as introduced in Captain America: Civil War.
Something we 100% know that helps differentiate the pair is that Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, who won’t make her MCU debut in Infinity War, as originally intended, but will instead feature in Avengers 4.Â
That aside, the rest of the answers will begin to come together when Infinity War hits cinemas on April 27th.
