New Avengers 4 Set Pics All But Confirm Yakuza’s Involvement

Principal photography on Avengers 4 is officially underway, that much we know, but beyond alleged roll calls and rumors surrounding Marvel’s vague plans for Phase 4 – a Phase that will purportedly be shaped by the untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel – Joe and Anthony Russo’s 2019 blockbuster is being kept under lock and key.

In the eyes of ardent fans, that’s both a blessing and a curse, and maintaining some semblance of secrecy simply means that we’ll just have to wait that little bit longer before our burning questions are answered.

But regardless of which side of the fence you find yourself on – the rumormonger; or the spoiler-sensitive that avoids all speculation as though it were the plague – the Marvel rumor mill is an unrelenting machine that tends to operate 24/7, and the latest purported tidbit for Avengers 4 comes to us by way of Atlanta Filming. The outlet has uncovered a few set photos which don’t feature any of the cast members, unfortunately, but they do confirm that at least part of the film will be taking place in Tokyo, with the Yakuza being involved as well, presumably.

If you recall, back in July, and prior to Infinity War‘s scene-stealing presentation at SDCC 2017, it emerged that Joe and Anthony Russo were casting the net in search of Japanese actors to fill out a possible Yakuza scene in Avengers 4. Word was that the directors located extras to play Japanese gangsters and cafe patrons, along with a group of attractive Japanese women. Now, these set photos seem to confirm that, though it’s still unknown what exactly will be happening in these scenes or why Earth’s Mightiest Heroes find themselves in that part of the world.

Still, Marvel fans will note the importance of including the Yakuza here, as the Japanese crime syndicate has a major presence in Netflix series Daredevil, wherein they’re tied into the evil ninja clan The Hand. It’s tempting, then, to imagine that this marks the first steps towards introducing the Netflix part of the MCU into the movies’ world. That being said, we probably shouldn’t get too carried away with this idea, as we’ve been told many times before that a crossover is unlikely – though still possible. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, right?

Once Thanos has waged war on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and both Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel enjoy their time in the limelight, Joe and Anthony Russo will unleash the so-far untitled Avengers 4 upon the moviegoing masses on May 3rd, 2019. That’s still an awful long way away, so until we have some firm answers for you to pour over, you can share your knee-jerk reaction to these latest set photos in the comments section.