It’s long been understood that Avengers: Endgame will serve as the final outing for some of the franchise’s biggest stars, and in the new issue of Empire, co-writer Christopher Markus offers a reminder that not every departing hero will be settling down for a quiet retirement.
As the culmination point for the first three phases of the franchise, next month’s Avengers: Infinity War sequel is set bring some huge changes to the cinematic universe. And when asked how Endgame will impact the wider MCU, Markus offered a slightly ominous response.
“We are in different territory, possibly than anyone’s ever been in before in terms of a movie series,” Markus said. “The MCU continues to exist. Who happens to be in it is fluid and evolving things where, because it’s all connected, you can’t reboot one. All the parts have to work together. Things continue, but like life, losses are real, and change is real.”
It’s true that the expanded universe model ensures that no character is completely indispensable. While there could be no James Bond films without 007, Marvel could kill off Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and any of their other major players, and the franchise would still be able to continue.
Adding to the uncertainly of who may survive to the next phase is the fact that Marvel Studios has yet to officially announce any projects beyond 2019. According to Kevin Feige, the choice to keep future plans under wraps is “not even just about spoilers,” but also about keeping the focus on the next couple of releases.
That being said, various reports have already given us a pretty good idea of what the franchise’s next few years will look like. In 2020, for instance, it’s likely that Black Widow and The Eternals will be the MCU’s two releases, while 2021 may well be the year of Doctor Strange 2, Black Panther 2 and Shang-Chi.
Nonetheless, we still have much to learn about the state of the MCU after next month’s film, but we’ll likely get a fair amount of clarification when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th.