Intergalactic Comics: What We Know About Avengers: Infinity War

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

What We Know About Avengers: Infinity War

By Jaclyn Cascio (@jaclynator)

The course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been laid out years ahead by the studio. Fans have the privilege of knowing what’s coming next on their movie calendars. Unfortunately, it also means that fans are scavenging for tidbits of news wherever and whenever they can find it while waiting (for what seems like forever) for the next anticipated project. Avengers: Infinity War is no exception to this. We’ve gathered as much information as possible about the upcoming movie and put it all in one convenient spot, right here! Keep reading to find out what we know so far about Avengers: Infinity War.

Production of Avengers: Infinity War began January 23 at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, GA. Infinity War and the currently untitled sequel are expected to be filmed back to back this year. While the sequel was formerly known as Part 2 of Infinity War, the title was retracted in August of last year, because the directing Russo brothers (Anthony and Joe) felt the titles were misleading. This left many fans wondering if the movies will be linked, especially considering that the fourth Avengers film will be the last movie of Phase 3 for the MCU. However, directors have confirmed that the two movies will still be closely connected, and the back to back filming schedule supports that.

Some of the biggest questions coming from fans have focused on the cast. The film’s writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, have estimated that there are approximately 75 characters available to show up in Avengers: Infinity War, so there’s a lot of room for speculation! Let’s start with the confirmed folks we were already pretty sure would be showing up. Avengers: Infinity War will include: Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Vision (Paul Bettany), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), and Thanos (Josh Brolin). Shortly before the release of Doctor Strange, we also received confirmation that Doctor Strange himself (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) will be in the films.

Recently released information has confirmed that the Guardians of the Galaxy will indeed be working alongside the Avengers in the film as well! The cast will include: Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff). And we have all been wondering about New York City’s resident web-slinger, Spider-Man. It has been confirmed that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will be fighting with the Avengers against the terrible Thanos.

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As long as Stan Lee is alive and kicking, we can count on a cameo by him in the film. But he may not be the only one sneaking his way into Avengers: Infinity War. Jim Starlin is the creative mind behind the invention of the character Thanos, and he has expressed interest in having a cameo. Directing Russo brothers also seem receptive to the idea, so be on the lookout!

Meanwhile, there are still several characters we aren’t sure will appear in Avengers: Infinity War. While Evangeline Lily (Wasp) has stated that she will not appear in Avengers: Infinity War, she expects to have a role in the fourth Avengers film. But Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is still up in the air as a possible cast member. He certainly showed his goods in Captain America: Civil War and there will be another Ant-Man movie before Infinity War is released, but his presence in a fight against Thanos is not confirmed yet. We don’t know about War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) is also not necessarily a sure bet either. Social media posts by Mackie and a brief glimpse at a Falcon “trading card” in a Marvel Studios featurette about the movie provide clues that he might have a place in Infinity War, but we simply don’t know for certain just yet. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) was introduced in Captain America: Civil War, and it seems likely he will be in Infinity War. However, there has been no confirmation there either. The same goes for characters like Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders).

One of the last big casting speculations involves Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. The Russo brothers let slip, at one point, that she might have a role in Avengers: Infinity War, but with a solo origin story film for the character yet to come, we may not see her take part in the fight just yet. It may also be possible that she will make an appearance in the sequel, after further development of her story and powers, much like the situation with Evangeline Lily as Wasp.

While we are still in the dark about some characters and their place in Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos (played by Josh Brolin in some sweet mo-cap work) began the build-up as the “big bad” quite some time ago. Producer Kevin Feige has said that Thanos will be the “biggest, the best, the baddest villain that we’ve ever had. And the most frightening villain that the Avengers have ever faced.” Marvel has teased us with that fact for several years through the course of multiple movies within the MCU as Avengers: Infinity War has been designed as a culmination of work from the first Iron Man movie in 2008. And we know that the Infinity Stones have been slowly gathered through the movies in the last decade of Marvel movies. So what’s the story?

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Although there has been no explicit mention of Mistress Death (and Thanos’ love for and obsession with her), Avengers: Infinity War is likely based on the 1991 “Infinity Gauntlet” comic book mini-series. In the comic books, Thanos collects the stones for the gauntlet and kills half of all life in the universe for Mistress Death. Christopher Markus, one of the writers for Avengers: Infinity War has said that in the upcoming film, Thanos wants to “rebalance the universe as he sees it,” and the Infinity Stones are the most effective way to provide him the incredible power to do that. We don’t know what kind of balance Thanos seeks or why (could it be a balance for Mistress Death’s sake?), but he plans to reshape everything according to his will.

Last we saw, the Avengers were torn apart in Civil War, which producer Kevin Feige has expressed as necessary to create another challenge for the heroes to overcome in their struggle against the villainous Thanos. (We can’t make it too easy for them, right?) Also, the Infinity Stones were all over the place! Stones can be found in Loki’s scepter (from the first Avengers film), the aether (from Thor: Dark World), the orb (from Guardians of the Galaxy), Vision’s mind stone (from Avengers: Age of Ultron), and the Eye of Agamotto (from Doctor Strange). Considering who has the Infinity Stones and their various locations, it can probably be fairly safe to assume that Avengers: Infinity War will involve Thanos trying to acquire the stones from their current owners and the battles which are sure to follow.

Other promotional information has already started to be released as production on Avengers: Infinity War began less than a month ago. Marvel Studios released a short featurette, giving us information from producer Kevin Feige, directors Anthony and Joe Russo, as well as gifting us with a glimpse (and further confirmation) of some cast members. You can watch the video on Marvel Studio’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAOzrChqmd0. In addition, Robert Downey Jr. released a short live feed video on Facebook to tease the fans a bit more. You can find the video on RDJ’s Facebook page or at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTclhOSJw9Y. It’s definitely work a look, and stay tuned to the end to find out about his “cameraman.”

So that’s the 411 on Avengers: Infinity War! We all still have unanswered questions, but over the next few months of production we are sure to learn more!