In addition to Avengers: Infinity War playing host to the big duke-a-roo with Thanos that we’ve all been waiting to see, one of the most significant things it has going for it is that the film will serve as the culmination of everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building towards since the release of Iron Man back in 2008. Yes, it’s been a ten-year journey, and that’s what makes it so special.
Naturally, this has devout True Believers and casual moviegoers alike wondering how the landscape will look in a post-Avengers 4 world. And, appropriately enough, co-director Joe Russo has likened the situation to that of what’d occur in the comics, offering the following to ComicBook.com:
“If you were to think of the Marvel universe over the last ten years as a book, this is the ending of the book. And then there may be new books written, but this is certainly the ending of this book.”
As someone who reads the comics themselves, I can liken this to how eras such as those that followed Avengers Disassembled were distinctly different from what followed major crossover events such as Secret Invasion or Siege. Or, to keep it current, how the 616 looks after the conclusion of Secret Empire.
With that, we fully expect for this Thanos jazz to be behind us in about a year or so, with the next major threat to present itself to the MCU to follow. My better judgment says it’ll be the Skrulls, but you never know if Kevin Feige and company will utilized Kang the Conqueror or somebody else.
Circling back to the point we made earlier, Russo couldn’t help but reflect on the journey he and his brother Anthony have embarked on alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes:
“It’s been a personal journey, frankly, I think for us, as filmmakers from Winter Solider. There were seeds set in that movie that I think that we then tried to expound upon in Civil War, that then led to Infinity War. How we feel about the characters, as comic book fans, the story that we wanna see, re-imagining these characters through a very personal point of view. It’s not only a culmination of the last 10 years of Marvel storytelling, but for us, it’s a culmination of our journey as directors to the Marvel Universe.”
Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on April 27, with Avengers 4 set to follow on May 3, 2019.
