All Avengers 5 Rumors And Spoilers Leaked So Far
The dust has barely settled (no pun intended) on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but fans of the popular superhero franchise have been clamoring for more from the bosses at Marvel Studios.
They were appeased somewhat after San Diego Comic Con in July 2019, when Marvel announced its plans for the upcoming Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there were a few highly anticipated films on the roster, including the first solo Black Widow movie and a fourth Thor flick, a fifth Avengers crossover film was not on the list. In November 2019, Marvel also released a number of dates — five in total at the moment — for more upcoming projects, without attaching any titles to them.
Those dates carry through to November 2023, and there's plenty of speculation as to what they could include, from Ant-Man 3 to Captain Marvel 2 (both of which are confirmed to be happening). Even with no confirmation of an Avengers 5, we're pretty sure that it'll be on tap at some point in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future — and since the Marvel fandom is a dedicated bunch, there are already plenty of rumors making the rounds about what the film might actually entail.
What do we know of casting for Avengers 5?
In terms of the cast, there are a few characters we can safely say won't be returning to the Avengers. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is definitely out of the mix, considering that he sacrificed himself at the end of Endgame to save the universe from Thanos (Josh Brolin). Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) also said a heartbreaking goodbye when she threw herself off a cliff to ensure that Hawkeye would get his hands on the Soul Stone. Captain America (Chris Evans) won't be making an appearance either, as he's lived out his life with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) in the past, and is now a senior citizen.
The only member of the original big three that could still play a role is Chris Hemsworth's Thor, who is part of the Phase 4 plans with that fourth solo film, Thor: Love and Thunder, due out in 2021. However, that flick is set to see him hand over the mantle of Thor to Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who will appear as the first female Thor — and could form part of a new Avengers team.
So who does that leave? Well, we know that Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) is thought to be leading the franchise from here on out. There's also Spider-Man (although his future role in the MCU is still very much uncertain after his third solo film), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), and the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), to whom Cap gifted his shield at the conclusion of Endgame. Many of these characters already have new movies or series in the works due for release in Phase 4, so it seems pretty inevitable that they'll appear in a team-up movie.
Will there be more than one Avengers team?
Of course, it's quite possible that a totally new iteration of the Avengers will make its debut in Phase 4. Teams from the comics such as the New Avengers, Young Avengers, and even the West Coast Avengers might soon see some of their members introduced on the big screen or in Disney+ series.
With Marvel Studios' recent emphasis on diversity, the Young Avengers are probably the best option for the films going forward. The group includes superheroes such as Wiccan, who is gay and dates his teammate Hulkling, and black bi-sexual hero Prodigy. Heroes such as these could help bring the MCU into the 21st century, and be a bit more representative of today's society than the franchise has been in the past. A key member of the Young Avengers is Kate Bishop, the second character to take on the mantle of Hawkeye; she is already confirmed to be included in Phase 4, as she is set to have a role in the Hawkeye Disney+ series.
Marvel president Kevin Feige has already confirmed that many of the characters introduced in those Disney+ series will have roles to play in the films going forward. To what extent, we don't yet know — but Marvel does certainly look to be setting up the Young Avengers to take center stage at some point in the future.
She-Hulk is the first confirmed new Avenger
The casting call for the Disney+ series She-Hulk has been revealing, with The Independent reporting that the final line of the call stated that whoever is cast in the role of Jennifer Walters will eventually be a "future member of the Avengers." That would make She-Hulk the first character set to be introduced on Disney+ that the studio has actually confirmed will play a major role in the films of the MCU in the future. Feige had previously talked about She-Hulk (not to mention Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel) crossing over to the big screen at some point, but the casting call is the first confirmation that she will actually be an Avenger one day.
The studio is looking for a woman between the ages of 26 and 34, with no preference as to her racial background. As of this writing, there has been no casting announcement — so presumably, the search for the newest member of the Avengers is still on.
Could the X-Men be a part of the new Avengers group?
Another major addition to the MCU could come in the form of the X-Men. While their introduction into the MCU was previously impossible, Disney's acquisition of Fox Studios has made it inevitable. Fans have been clamoring for this ever since the deal, and there's even a compelling theory or two about how the mutants could materialize in the universe.
One has to do with the upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision, which will lead directly into the events of the feature film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and which will see the Scarlet Witch's reality-warping powers finally start to come into play. Wanda's incursions into other realities within the multiverse could provide a door through which the X-Men could arrive in the MCU fully-formed.
Another concerns the Reality Stone, which was last seen being transported safely back to 2013 Asgard by Captain America. The stone could theoretically allow a powerful enough user to breach interdimensional barriers without the use of magic... but all of this is, of course, speculation at the moment. It certainly seems likely that the X-Men will make their first MCU appearance at some point in Phase 4, but it remains to be seen whether any of their number will be pressed into service as a member of the Avengers.
Taking time to build the next Avengers roster
What is certain is that Marvel is taking some time to allow legacy characters to breathe while introducing new ones into the MCU, given that this is be the first time that no Avengers film was announced in an entire phase. With many established heroes saying their goodbyes at the end of Endgame, the universe needs to bulk up the hero bank before they'll be able to take on another major villain that needs to be faced as a collective.
Feige has said that for him, Endgame was an ending, and while he hasn't closed the door on the possibility of more Avengers films at a later date, he wants the studio for now to be focused on telling new stories. Given the lineup for Phase 4 and the next few years, it seems clear they're trying to do just that before considering another major crossover film.