Recently, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige opened a can of worms when he seemed to suggest that the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it was ending after Phase Three. It wasn’t clear exactly what he meant at the time, but some new info from a key MCU player might have just let it slip: there will be no major team-up movies from Phase Four onward.
While chatting with Collider, Josh Brolin – who’s played the Mad Titan Thanos across several movies since 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy – gave some insight into Marvel’s plans for the future. The actor believes the studio found making Avengers: Infinity War and its as yet unnamed sequel such a logistical nightmare that they’re not planning to do it again after Avengers 4.Â
“I think that they’re in a position very openly and rawly where they’re like, ‘We would never do this again. This is a one-time deal. To put this many successful actors together is such a pain in the ass, but it’s been worth it. We’re doing two movies. One back to back, and this is it for us. Then we’ll go off in another direction, but this is a very, very, very obviously ambitious project that I think is going to pay off in a big way.”
While this is certainly shocking news, previous remarks from Feige have certainly prepared us for a major change of direction in the MCU going forward. While the more casual, smaller crossovers that we’ve seen in the likes of Iron Man’s role in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Hulk’s in Thor: Ragnarok are bound to continue, Brolin’s comments here indicate that we won’t ever see another movie that unites the Avengers, the Guardians and every other hero bobbing around this universe. Initially, that might seem like a shame, but it’s worth remembering that many of the MCU’s most well-regarded films are the solo character movies which give the heroes ample room to grow.
Further in the interview, Brolin was asked about the experience of making films with such a jam-packed cast. He cited how it just involved “a different kind of acting” and that the highlight for him was the state-of-the-art CGI which brought his character to life.
It’s just a different type of acting, but then when I saw, they showed me a little six-minute teaser of a scene that I had done, and I was so blown away by how next level this digital process is and how real it feels. I don’t know how I could be anything but happy. If everybody hates me at the end of it, I don’t know, will it be worth it if it’s a great movie? Maybe.”
Avengers: Infinity War arrives in theaters on May 4th, 2018, while Avengers 4 lands a year later on May 3rd, 2019.
