It should come as no surprise to anyone that the next two AVENGERS movies will mark the end of a ten-year-long adventure spanning, by the end of the fourth film, over 20 films. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has made it clear this will be the end of the road for some of the current members of the Avengers, and the team will look very different compared to how it is now. Of course, many 'a nerd take this to mean that some of the heroes will kick the bucket, while others may just take a long holiday. We have no way of knowing who all will be gone and who will stay by the end of it all, but thankfully we here at JoBlo are gracing you with our predictions, and below you find a detailed exploration of the fate of now and future Avengers.
Before we begin, just note this is a section meant for major players and leaves out characters like Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau), Hank Pym, and those attached to the THOR and DOCTOR STRANGE movies. However, I will say all those people could die for the sake of making up a body count without having major repurcussions in the series (namely Potts or Hogan).
NICK FURY & LOKI
FURY: Okay, he's not really an Avenger like Iron Man or Thor, but he's the mastermind of the team itself. We haven’t seen Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) since his small part in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, and that came after he went on the run after the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER. He’s since come out and said he’s not in either BLACK PANTHER or this first INFINITY WAR, so it made a lot of people wondering when the hell we would see him again. He signed a lengthy contract with Marvel (nine movies is the number out there), so he has to return at some point. There’s word he will be appearing in CAPTAIN MARVEL (which takes place in the 90s, before even the events of IRON MAN), so there’s that. As well, it would be quite nostalgic to see him return at the end of the second INFINITY WAR, as a way of uniting the “new team.”
Status: He will return to unite the new band of Avengers. Leave the alien-fighting to the superheroes.
LOKI: Like Fury, Loki isn't exactly an Avenger. He's not even really a hero. He's barely a good person. Okay, he's not a good person. Still, he's a massive figure in this world and has been the prime villain of sorts ever since he caused the team so much trouble in THE AVENGERS. As we saw in the new INFINITY WAR trailer, Loki has a role to play in this next film, seen handing over the Tesseract to Thanos. Many are speculating this is where the lovable baddie meets his end, but he's still got some time in the game left. Like many of the other actors, Tom Hiddleston is believed to have signed a six-movie deal, which would mean that after INFINITY WAR he has one movie left to go. Which that will be, who knows? Maybe he's in AVENGERS 4, or maybe they'll save him for something else. Losing him would be a big blow to the Marvel fandom, and it would rob the series of one of its best characters. And, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), would lose both his brother and chief rival. Is that a step Marvel is willing to take?
Status: He will survive to play more tricks, but how many and when is a mystery.
CAPTAIN MARVEL & BLACK PANTHER:
MARVEL: Clearly this one is a no-brainer. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) will be the newest addition to the MCU come the events of INFINITY WAR, and we won’t even see her in action until AVENGERS 4. There’s no reason whatsoever to kill her off that early in the game, especially when she just got done with her own solo movie. Plus, with the need to have more female heroes in the mix means chances are Disney and Marvel have big plans for Earth’s Mightiest Hero.
Status: Will rise like the sun for the knowable future.
PANTHER: Much like Marvel, Black Panther’s role in the MCU is only going to grow after INFINITY WAR. From a contractual angle, he’ll have plenty more movies left to go, with CIVIL WAR acting as one, his solo movie a second, and the AVENGERS movies as two more. That’s a solid four films under his belt and a big chunk of his contract out of the way, but something tells me that’s just him getting started. With T’Challa also comes one important ingredient in the future of the MCU – Wakanda. The futuristic nation the character is from opens up a whole new spiritual side of the world, much like DOCTOR STRANGE took us into the realm of the mystical and GUARDIANS into the cosmos. Taking out Panther all but closes that world off, and that’s not something Marvel is willing to do as they try to expand the franchise even further.
Status: The king will stay on his throne.
DOCTOR STRANGE & SPIDER-MAN:
STRANGE: Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) came onto the scene in a big way last year, and he’s already had a small a role to play in THOR: RAGNAROK on top of being in the next two AVENGERS movies. Marvel has big plans for the Sorcerer Supreme, and given how close he is in personality to Tony Stark, he could even fill a major leadership role should that character ever go bye-bye (more on that later). Like Panther and Captain Marvel he’s a huge link to a greater world, so look for Strange to be a guiding hand through the realm of the…strange.
Status: Will continue to cast spells and be an ass for years to come.
SPIDEY: We don't know much about Phases 4, 5, or 6, let alone all the many movies that they will contain. What we do know though is that Spider-Man (Tom Holland) has a big role to play going forward, as SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2 is already on the docket for summer 2020. On top of all that, Spider-Man is just too popular a character to kick off. Word is Holland signed a six-movie deal, and the AVENGERS movies will make four appearances for the web-head, I think we can expect to see much more of this wall-crawler going forward (HOMECOMING 2 and 3 would make six appearances).
Status: Best get used to seeing tight-fitting red spandex
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY:
These guys have really surprised everyone with the critical and financial success of their last two movies, going from obscurity to pop culture phenomes overnight. There’s already a plan for a third outing with them after INFINITY WAR(S), so they’re most likely not going anywhere. Granted, James Gunn said the team will look different after the events of VOL. 3, but I think any deaths would be contained to their own movies.
Status: These assholes still have plenty of galaxy-saving left to do.
SCARLETT WITCH & VISION:
WITCH: I think Scarlett Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) is a solid “staying alive” bet. She’s just growing into her powers, and how she works to develop them and her place in the Avengers is one of the most fascinating character angles the series has going for it. With the need for more female heroes, getting rid of Witch would also be a negative for Marvel on the PR front. In short, her position is secure within the dynamic of the team, and I look forward to seeing where Olsen takes the character.
Status: The Witch will continue to chuck red spells through the 2020s
VISION: As for Vision, this one’s tricky, because though I don’t think he’s an absolute goner, but we’ve seen in the trailer that he will be transformed in some way. The key to his power and life force lies in the Mind Gem attached to his head, which was used to bring him to life in AGE OF ULTRON. The second this happened fans who’ve been following the series knew exactly what it would have to mean for the events of INFINITY WAR(S), with Thanos needing to collect all the Infinity Stones his complete his plans. As a result, the former J.A.R.V.I.S. looks like he may transform into a human form, his powers evaporated, making him a mortal man. This doesn’t exactly mean death, but his days as a laser blasting hero may be over.
Status: Vision is doomed to a life of mundane humanity
ANT-MAN & THE WASP
This one is also odd. We have yet to see Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) in superhero action, and so I don't know what capacity she and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) will be involved in INFINITY WAR. They have ANT-MAN & THE WASP coming out two months after INFINITY WAR, and all the plot details say it involves Lang trying to balance family and herodom after CIVIL WAR. If he were in INFINITY WAR, the whole family thing would probably take a back seat. Plus, neither he or Wasp was seen in the INFINITY WAR trailer (unless they were just really, really tiny). So, something tells me the duo won't be involved much in the first INFINITY WAR movie, them busy being in whatever scenario occurs in their movie. This means we probably won’t see Wasp or Ant-Man in the first part, and they will probably be of more use in AVENGERS 4. Killing them off in that next film seems silly then, especially as Ant-Man is becoming a more popular character after his first movie caught audience’s eyes, on top of his scene-stealing work in CIVIL WAR. An integral part of the Avengers comics, I think Ant-Man and Wasp will make fine additions to whatever makes up the future Avengers team in the future.
Status: These insects laugh in the face of Raid spray!
BLACK WIDOW & HAWKEYE
HAWKEYE: Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has been a solid addition to the team ever since the first Avengers, with his first appearance being a cameo in 2011’s THOR. He hasn't gotten the same level of screen time as the other guys but, hey, that's what you get for having a bow and arrow. As for the number of movies on his contract the most recurring number I've seen around is four (excluding the THOR cameo), and if he's in INFINITY WAR, that would bring his total up to four (AVENGERS 1 & 2, CIVIL WAR), and would mean he doesn't even have to appear in the second part of INFINITY WAR. However, he was absent from the INFINITY WAR trailer, so maybe he's gone in this one, and returns for AVENGERS 4. But I've also seen the number five pop, so maybe he is in both. Anyway, going with four movies, with all the new heroes showing up in the MCU I don’t know if they’ll have much room for Hawkeye down the road, and in my opinion, that’s perfect fodder for a big Marvel death. His death would resonate with audiences, but wouldn’t leave a major hole in the MCU. However, his death would affect one character more than most, and she's the one we’re talking about next.
Status: Arrow Guy will be Dead Guy
WIDOW: Scarlett Johansson has been with the MCU since its early days, superseding even Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth by appearing in IRON MAN 2 as Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff back in 2010. Needless to say, this badass redhead has earned her place among the team, evolving every step of the way. Johansson is at peak popularity right now and given her and her character’s appeal I don’t think the big wigs are going to be done with her just yet. We can't go off of her contract because even she admitted it's morphed and changed a lot based on how the character was received (she wasn't even supposed to be in the CAPTAIN AMERICA movies). Going based solely on story angles, INFINITY WAR is the perfect opportunity to put her through the ringers, setting her on a life-defining quest out in the big wide world. Perhaps the chaos is too much, she sees too many friends die (Arrow Guy), and therefore she leaves the team to do some soul-searching. This would be a great story fodder to give Widow her own movie (which Johansson seems very committed to getting), taking on the form of some Jason Bourne-style espionage flick, centering on a nomadic protagonist working in the shadows. I would be behind that movie 100 percent, not only because I would watch Johansson in anything, but because how badass would a straightforward, minimal CGI, Marvel spy flick be? But, I would mostly see it because Johansson is a goddess, and I her humble servant.
Status: Black Widow will wander the earth…like Caine in KUNG-FU
HULK & THOR
*Spoilers for THOR: RAGNAROK*
HULK: Hulk/Bruce Banner is far too valuable to a character to the MCU to just see die, so chances are we will see him again in the universe not too long after the events of INFINITY WAR. That, and Mark Ruffalo will most likely be playing the Green Meanie in said appearances, mostly because he signed a six-film contract, and THOR: RAGNAROK will only mark film three (AVENGERS, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON). If he were to be in both INFINITY WAR movies that would only knock out five of the six, so contractually we have to see him again. However, that may not mean he will exactly be an Avenger like the rest of the team. That and Ruffalo said RAGNAROK would be the start of a three-movie Hulk/Banner arc, concluding with the second INFINITY WAR. After that, there may not be a reason to have one more random movie, so who knows if Ruffalo would sign up for more to keep his story going. But, of course, Hulk is awesome, and there's always a reason for more of him. Maybe given the romantic angle between Banner and Romanoff the series will have the two running away together to get into their own wacky adventures. That would sort of put a stake in the heart of the minimalist action movie described earlier for Widow, but hey, I’d still watch a BLACK WIDOW/HULK movie.
Status: Hulk will smash again in some capacity….or maybe he'll run away with Widow. He's a toss-up.
THOR: Though the THOR movies haven’t had the same success as the solo movies for Captain America, Iron Man (though RAGNAROK finally gave him a movie to be proud of), that still hasn’t stopped Thor from becoming one of the most beloved heroes in the MCU. Star Chris Hemsworth has become a household name as well after donning the hammer, and he’s had marvelous success with an array of other projects. It’s for that very reason why I could see Hemsworth hanging up the hammer so that he could pursue other roles. Now, Thor being a god makes him hard to kill, and like some of the other cosmic characters on the list losing him means losing access to more cosmic adventures – not to mention a major villain in Loki (Tom Hiddleston), because what's Loki without Thor? Now, like Widow, I can see him simply retiring, perhaps taking up the throne as King of Asgard (or, a ship filled with Asgardians), all before showing back up again in the fray some years and years down the road. It’s busy life being the God of Thunder.
Status: Thor shall retire to spend his days drinking wine and pacing around a la GAME OF THRONES.
War Machine, Winter Solider & The Falcon:
WAR MACHINE: Terrence Howard may have played the part before Don Cheadle came aboard, but as for the character, James "Rhodey" Rhodes has been with us since the very beginning, acting as the more reasonable foil to Tony Stark's arrogant and brash persona. In IRON MAN 2 he finally got a suit of his own, and he has since gone on to star in IRON MAN 3, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR and with a bit part in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. For Cheadle, that makes six movies done after INFINITY WAR ends (if he's in both movies), and if he signed a contract similar to everyone else, that means he's free to step aside. But I have a feeling Cheadle wouldn't back away so quickly, as he's just now getting to step outside of being an Iron Man sidekick and really becoming apart of the big team. However, it's not really his call. War Machne fits into that tiny area like Hawkeye wherein the audience knows and cares about him, but is ultimately expendable. His death would make a good catalyst for Stark's fate (see final section), and would be a big enough hit to fans without putting the future MCU in a total bind.
Status: The machine may finally be out of gas.
Though we will discuss Captain America next, let's just assume Chris Evans will step down from playing the role after his contract is done. This could mean Marvel will just recast, but I don’t see why they would do that when they have two more replacements in the wings: Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie). Both characters have taken on the mantle of Captain America in the comics, and Marvel could be grooming one or the other to take up the red, white and blue shield in the movies. Stan reportedly signed a nine-movie contract with Marvel and he has more than enough movies left to take on such a heavy role, and given the trajectory, the character being taken on the journey into full-on hero territory seems logical. Mackie could be around for a while too, but seeing him take on the shield doesn’t make as much sense to me as Stan, even though it would fit the character arc. However, they have the perfect dynamic for a dysfunctional buddy-cop-style flick.
Status: Winter Solider takes on a larger, more heroic role, while Falcon has an "I still don't trust this guy" demeanor towards him.
CAPTAIN AMERICA & IRON MAN:
Now for the lynchpins – and we'll start with the big kahuna: Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). This is the character that started this whole thing, and he’s been the primary figurehead for virtually a decade. Fans have fallen in love with the sassy Stark, and in response made Downey more beloved than he’s ever been in his decades-long career. But all stories must end, and Downey’s Stark is most likely nearing his final paragraph. The actor has been done with his contract for some time but has been returning for movies like CIVIL WAR and SPIDER-MAN so that Marvel could continue with its plans (and for that sweet, sweet paycheck). We’ve seen him evolve from narcissistic playboy to legit do-gooder over the years, and so far his journey has been about “ending the fight,” as evidenced by AGE OF ULTRON. There’s also the removal of the arc reactor from his chest, as well as taking on Spider-Man/Peter Parker as a mentee (perhaps to make him a successor), all furthering the idea his plan might be to get out of the game – finally finding peace. I don't think this will come in the form of death, but rather a Bruce Wayne a la THE DARK KNIGHT RISES ending, wherein he gives it all up to live a life of luxury and simplicity, leaving the hero game to the new guys. If he does kick the bucket I wouldn't be surprised, but Tony's journey has always been about transition and becoming a new man, and I think death is taking that a step too far. Him leaving the game for good and putting everything he's built into the hands of, say, Peter Parker or Doctor Strange would be a warm farewell for the character, especially considering the emotional trauma he’s put himself through.
Status: Tony Stark will retire to the countryside with Catwoman by his side.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: Now for the second: Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America. The character acts as the leader of this band of heroes, and his solo movies – especially the latter two – rank as some of the best of the MCU. We’ve seen him evolve from skinny weakling to hero of man, and he, in turn, goes through some serious personal upheavals, like becoming public enemy number one after CIVIL WAR. The events of INFINITY WAR will take the character down some serious roads, one of which I think will ultimately lead to – gulp – his death. There are several factors that act as evidence for my rationale, the main reason being Evans has said he is done with not only the series but acting altogether after his INFINITY WAR work is done. His contract is up, and he’s gonna walk. Some may think that just means “for now,” but I believe Evans is serious about stepping away for good. Overall, Steve Rogers has gone on such an emotional journey, and given the events of the CIVIL WAR and these next two AVENGERS movies, I’d say the story of the world’s first super soldier is about to hit his final period. He’s the exact kind of character to give his life for the cause, and his martyrdom is just what is needed to show everyone he really is the truest definition of a hero, and how important it is to stay together as a team and to not let squabbles divide them. Plus, he seems to have stopped bathing come INFINITY WAR, which means he knows it's probably time to go.
Status: Cap will return to the ice from whence he came.
Tallies:
- Will live to fight another day as an Avenger (or Guardian): Nick Fury, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Scarlett Witch, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Winter Soldier, The Falcon, and the current GOTG (15)
- "Retirement": Iron Man, Widow, Thor, Loki (4)
- Toss Up: Hulk/Banner (1)
- Dead: Captain America, Hawkeye, War Machine, Vision (not dying, exactly, but becoming and staying human) (3.5)
So, as our hypothesis for each character details, there won't be as much death as some fans may think. Dying in the MCU has just as much to do with storytelling as it does contracts with the actors, and there are so many heroes in this universe now that have several more movies left to shine in. It's those who've we've been with since the beginning that we need to keep an eye on. But, does that mean he likes of Iron Man or Thor will kick the bucket? I don't think so. Kevin Feige seems committed to the idea that the teams can switch up, with some heroes getting swapped out for others, with older characters coming back years later. That, and Marvel Studios doesn't seem interested in playing with life and death like in the comics, wherein characters die and can be brought back through wildly unbelievable means. Death seems permanent to them, so killing may be something they treat very carefully. Do they really want Tony Stark gone for good? This is why some characters may just be "retired," and why anyone expecting mountains of death of major players may leave surprised.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR arrives May 4, 2018.
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