How Avengers: Endgame Will Change The MCU Forever

Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe promises to bring a lot of changes, with A-list characters like the Fantastic Four and X-Men finally in the cards and James Gunn officially rehired for the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. While some of these developments stand on their own, many others are sure to be direct consequences of Avengers: Endgame. The climactic finale of Phase 3 will wrap up several long-running character arcs as well as integrate some newer faces into the MCU canvas. It's also poised to rapidly expand on largely unexplored concepts like the Quantum Realm.

The film even appears to have pushed the envelope behind the scenes, specifically in terms of the scope of its production and its unique form of promotion. All in all, there's no doubt that Endgame will have a dramatic effect on the Marvel landscape, shifting the tone and rewriting the script going forward. Here are some of the many different ways that Endgame will change the MCU.

While there are many familiar faces that could be missed, the hardest pill to swallow coming out of Endgame will probably be the loss of Tony Stark. When Robert Downey Jr. told the press that he wanted his MCU career to end on a high, the message was pretty clear: the days of extending his contract were coming to a close. While all good things come to an end, the absence of Stark from the larger storyline is almost impossible to imagine.

The reformed billionaire playboy has managed to influence nearly every corner of the MCU. He's been around since day one, was pivotal in forming the Avengers, and has acted as a linchpin for the entire Infinity Stone epic. Not only did he have that prophetic vision in Age of Ultron, but Thanos' evident respect for the hero just underscores how much Tony Stark is the glue that's held the MCU together thus far.

What happens when that glue is removed? It's a question that will be answered soon enough... on the other hand, there's always the hope that he'll relent and go for yet another contract extension. Hey, one can dream, right?

The creators at Marvel have always had a hard time letting go of their superheroes. No matter how difficult the scenario, the sacrifices required have hardly ever resulted in the literal, irrevocable death of a hero. During Captain America: Civil War, when Team Iron Man and Team Cap literally came to blows, the worst results were War Machine's injuries and some seriously damaged relationships. While there have been a couple of onscreen superhero deaths (including Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Gamora in Infinity War), Quicksilver was hardly developed enough to seriously miss — and Zoe Saldana, who plays Gamora, has already confirmed that she'll be back.

In Endgame, however, there's the distinct possibility that we'll finally see a sacrifice that could end in the death of a hero. Anthony and Joe Russo have remarked more than once that they're determined to underscore the action here with real-world stakes. In an interview with Variety after Infinity War came out, Anthony Russo warned fans that this could have a major impact in Endgame; although he admitted that "remarkable things can happen in a fantasy world," his brother and co-director Joe added that "they come at an incredibly high cost." If Endgame manages to finally let go of one or more of the lead Avengers — say Captain America or Iron Man, for example — it could completely reshape the MCU canvas heading into Phase 4.

The primary narrative of the MCU so far has tended to focus on Earth-bound heroes — especially, the Avengers. Of course, Thor came from Asgard, but his storylines tended to move between his own kingdom and Earth. Characters like Doctor Strange and Ant-Man have developed their own storylines, but even they have been sucked into the Avenger action from time to time. There's one group, though, that had never met the Avengers up until Infinity War: the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Throughout Infinity War the two groups of heroes crossed paths on Titan and in Wakanda. After a brief but hostile encounter on Saturn's moon, the two teams synced up and formed a united front against Thanos that was stronger than even the Avengers could manage themselves. The trailers for Endgame have already shown multiple shots with Guardians and Avengers working together, from Tony Stark and Nebula stranded in space to a much larger group heading through the Avengers HQ hangar in their new suits. The alliance is a fun one to watch play out in Endgame, and the possibility of seeing the two superhero groups working together in the future is a tantalizing prospect.

In an interview with Empire Magazine (via ComicBookMovie.com), Kevin Feige dubbed the first 22 MCU movies "The Infinity Saga," adding that Marvel execs "wanted to bring to a conclusion a series of movies in a way that had never been done before." It's a fitting moniker, as the Infinity Stones have featured heavily throughout all three phases, with multiple Avengers' powers even originating from them.

While the Infinity Saga has been a heck of a ride all on its own, one side effect of Feige's comment is that it has added yet another layer to categorizing MCU films. Now, in addition to "phases," we also have "sagas." While anticipation for Phase 4 has long since reached a fever pitch, especially with Marvel about to take a year off before releasing any new films, the next thing we need Feige to tell us is what the next saga is going to be titled... unless, of course, he's planning on making us wait for over ten years and 22 more movies before we get that answer, too.

In an interview with Collider in February of 2019, Joe Russo explained that Endgame was "still at the three-hour mark," while in another interview with the same publication, Kevin Feige added that even if it came in at over three hours, it would be "the exact running time that the movie needs to be." Since then, an apparently mistaken early AMC Theaters listing seems to have revealed that Endgame clocks in at a staggering 182 minutes. It all reinforces the long-anticipated belief that the film would top three hours, making it the longest movie of the entire Infinity Saga.

That's all fine as far as hardcore Marvel fans are concerned, and the gargantuan Endgame storyline will certainly be able to comfortably fill a three-hour runtime. Infinity War, which clocked in at two hours and 40 minutes, had already bumped up the "longest runtime" MCU marker by a dozen minutes. Endgame is only going to extend that boundary by another 22. The question is, are three-hour-plus films going to become the norm now? Even if that's the case, it's hard to imagine the majority of filmgoers complaining at this point, especially while Marvel is hitting it out of the park with every project.

The Russo brothers have certainly had a fun time toying with fans as they've promoted Infinity War and Endgame. Remember that clip in the Infinity War trailer showing everyone — even the Hulk — charging together? When the film came out, the Hulk was nowhere to be seen. It happened again with speculation surrounding the Avengers 4 title, when Joe Russo denied that the name was ever spoken in Infinity War. And then, hey presto! We get Endgame, a word literally spoken by Doctor Strange during the movie.

The misdirections didn't stop there,. Not long after the second trailer for Endgame dropped, the Russos made it clear that they were more than willing to manipulate the footage or even use shots that wouldn't end up in the film in order to tell a story "specifically for the purpose of the trailer and not for the film." This tantalizingly frustrating promotion has done wonders to hype up Endgame without definitively giving anything away. The greater question here, though, is will it be repeated? The Russos just might have tapped into a new formula that will allow fans to get excited about future projects while still enabling them to go into the films blind.