Release Date: April 26, 2019
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Evangeline Lilly, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Tom Holland
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writer: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
The first trailer for Avengers 4 confirmed an early theory about the movie's title - that it would be called Avengers: Endgame, in reference to a quote from Infinity War in which Doctor Strange says, "We're in the endgame now." The title is widely assumed to reference the fact that losing to Thanos was part of Doctor Strange's plan - the only outcome, out of the millions of possible futures that he saw, in which the Avengers would have a chance of victory.
While it might seem counter-intuitive that the only way to beat Thanos was to let him win, there are several different paths that the Avengers could go down in order to bring back their fallen friends - and all the other trillions of lives that Thanos wiped out.
After months of speculation and excitement, the first trailer for Avengers: Endgame was finally released on December 7, 2018. Fans finally learned the sequel's official subtitle, and also got a look at the aftermath of Thanos' decimation of the universe. The trailer doesn't give away too much that we didn't already know, but it does open with an ominous scene of Tony Stark onboard the Guardians of the Galaxy's ship, the Benatar, slowly running out of food, water, and oxygen. Having seemingly accepted his fate, Tony records on last message on his helmet, intended for the love of his life, Pepper Potts.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, we see the Avengers trying to come to terms with their losses. Black Widow finds Hawkeye, who has now taken up a new costume and mantle as Ronin, back to the fighting life and looking particularly devastated. Ant-Man, who was also absent for the events of Infinity War, shows up at the end of the trailer, knocking on the doors of Avengers HQ.
THE DEAD HEROES WILL RETURN IN AVENGERS: ENDGAME (SOMEHOW)
Of course, there are a lot of characters dead after the events of Avengers: Infinity War. However, they won't be gone for good and are expected to appear in Avengers 4. It's expected that the heroes who died in the snap - Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Groot (Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) - will make a triumphant return. How is unclear, but all the actors have been reported on set and many have upcoming movies, such as Spider-Man: Far From Home, Black Panther 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Other heroes who died before the snap are also expected to appear in some form. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is theorized to actually be trapped in the Soul Stone, while Vision (Paul Bettany) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) have shows on the Disney+ streaming service (and the latter was seen in set photos).
Read More: Every Dead Hero Confirmed To Return In Avengers 4 (So Far)
AVENGERS: ENDGAME'S NEW CAST
Along with all the previously known characters, Avengers 4 has cast several new actors. These include an older Cassie Lang, teasing a time-jump and possibly her debut as the hero Stature from the Young Avengers. Katherine Langford has also been cast in a mysterious role.
Related: Avengers 4 Casts 13 Reason Why's Katherine Langford
AVENGERS: ENDGAME WILL DRASTICALLY CHANGE SOME CHARACTERS
By all accounts, it looks as if Avengers 4 will pick up where Avengers: Infinity War leaves off - but not without putting some characters through major changes. New alliances and enmities are sure to form when Thanos comes to Earth, and some character deaths are all but inevitable.
Meanwhile, Avengers 4 artwork has shown a new look for the surviving heroes, while the trailer and set photos revealed that Hawkeye will become Ronin like in the comics. There's also a chance we'll see a new version of Vision without the Mind Stone, as he rarely stays dead in the comics and may be revived in some fashion.
Related: How We Think Ant-Man Escapes The Quantum Realm In Avengers 4
AVENGERS: ENDGAME MAY INVOLVE TIME TRAVEL
Ever since Avengers 4 set photos appeared to recreate the end of the Battle of New York from The Avengers, it's been assumed the movie will involve time travel. This has led to a myriad of complicated theories, tying into Ant-Man's Quantum Realm and Captain Marvel's new origin.
Another option is that the scene in question is connected to Captain America: Civil War. That film introduced B.A.R.F., technology that Tony Stark used to recreate memories using holograms. Set photos have shown B.A.R.F. will be in play during Avengers 4, so the movie will have more than one way to mess with the minds of fans.
Read More: All The Time Travel Hints In The Avengers: Endgame Trailer
AVENGERS: ENDGAME WILL HAVE A MASSIVE TEAM-UP SCENE
Avengers 4 will feature a huge team-up scene that looks to put anything in Avengers: Infinity War to shame. Sure, this year's film will unite a number of heroes from the MCU, but it's clear that Avengers 4 will have even more characters. In fact, Avengers 4 will have over 40 characters in one scene, making for an unprecedented feat for a film; when Sebastian Stan confirmed Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer were in a scene with him in Avengers 4, he said it was in the 40+ character scene that's been teased. Add in characters like The Wasp and Captain Marvel, and it's easy to imagine how Avengers 4 will pull off this moment.
Read More: What We Know About Avengers 4’s "Every Character" Scene
THE DIRECTORS AND WRITERS OF INFINITY WAR ARE RETURNING FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Avengers: Endgame will not only follow on directly from Avengers: Infinity War, but also has the same writers and directors. After The Russo brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely cut their team-up chops on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, they proved their knack for uniting a big batch of heroes for a film both action-packed and character driven with Captain America: Civil War. It's unsurprising that Marvel Studios kept the quartet together for next year's movie, and though they'll all likely want a break after the back-to-back epics, they're sure to have a future with Marvel.
Read More: Russo Brothers Open to Working With Marvel After Avengers 4
AVENGERS: ENDGAME WAS ORIGINALLY INFINITY WAR, PART 2
Marvel die-hards will remember that when Avengers 4 was announced, it was actually called Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2. Back in 2014, Marvel held a huge event where they laid out their slate of films the end of Phase 3. Things changed a bit when Spider-Man: Homecoming joined the docket and Ant-Man gained a sequel (not to mention Inhumans becoming a TV show instead of a movie), but one big upset was the change in Avengers 4's name. Whether that means the plot has changed, however, remains to be seen.
Read More: Infinity War 'Part 1' Was Marvel’s Best Trick
AVENGERS: ENDGAME WILL END ONE MCU ARC - AND START ANOTHER
Avengers: Endgame will wrap up not only Phase 3 of the MCU, but also the shared universe's entire story to date. Though Marvel Studios have broken their films into three Phases so far, every movie since Iron Man has really been telling one long tale. Thanos has been on the outskirts hunting for the Infinity Stones, while heroes from Earth and across the galaxy have slowly been learning to work together to protect the cosmos. Avengers 3 and Avengers 4 will bring that journey to close while kicking off a new status quo for the MCU to explore. And for the Russos, Avengers 4 will finish what Winter Soldier began.
Read More: Predicting Marvel's 2020–2022 Films
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR'S POST-CREDITS SCENE SETS UP CAPTAIN MARVEL IN AVENGERS: ENDGAME
While Captain Marvel didn't arrive in Avengers: Infinity War, the post-credits scene teased her arrival. As the population of the Earth is being reduced by half, we see Nick Fury and Maria Hill assessing the damage. But after Hill starts turning to ash, Fury pulls out a modified pager (a nod to Captain Marvel's '90s setting) and sends out a signal before he too vanishes. And though many audience members won't be familiar, the symbol that appears on screen belongs to Captain Marvel and foreshadows her arrival in Avengers 4.
READ MORE: WHY CAPTAIN MARVEL HASN’T BEEN IN PREVIOUS AVENGERS MOVIES
AVENGERS: ENDGAME'S OFFICIAL POSTER
The first poster for Avengers: Endgame was released alongside the first trailer, and is fairly simple. It doesn't feature any of the heroes, but instead simply shows the team logo crumbling away into dust (or possible being reformed). The poster also confirms Avengers: Endgame's April 26, 2019 release date.