It’s hard to believe that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not only over a decade old, but its original story is coming to an end. With The Avengers 4’s release next year, Phase 3 will come to a close and bring an end to every major story arc up to this point. Moving forward, Phase 4 will be an inherently different series. One that focuses not on the Avengers we grew to know and love, but a new set of heroes, the ones who will carry the torch from here on out. With so many people antsy to know what happens next, some leaks have spilled through.
We actually know quite a bit about what’s going to happen with the MCU in the future thanks to leaks, theories, and rumors. It is important to remember, though, that leaks, theories, and rumors aren’t often real. What we can confirm is usually held up by interviews, set photos, and production details, but what we can’t, just take with a grain of salt. This is the natural cycle of movie rumors. Considering the entire plot of Infinity War leaked before its release, though, the MCU exists in a bubble where its leaks are almost always plausible.
30 Almost Confirmed: There’s Going To Be A Five Year Time Skip
Realistically, there is simply no way that The Avengers 4 picks up right where Infinity War left off. We may very well see a prologue that sees Tony with Nebula on Titan, but that will likely be it. Given what we’ve seen from production stills, concept art, and merchandise, we know the film will be seeing a five-year time skip.
A five-year jump in the future only makes sense narratively. We need to see a world post-Snap, and it can’t simply be right after. Rather, we need to see how life has changed. All signs point to it changing for the worse. With a five-year time jump, the heroes will be at their lowest point yet, making their inevitable victory all the more triumphant.
29 UNCONFIRMED: Time Will Be Reversed
While we know for certain that time will be jumping forward quite a bit at the start of The Avengers 4, we aren’t entirely sure whether or not time will be reversed. Logic dictates, given what we know about Spider-Man: Far From Home, time will indeed be reset. Why should it be, though?
It's back to 2018 for us.
Why does the status quo need to be fixed this way? It doesn’t necessarily erase the events that will shape the end of Phase 3, but it is a frustratingly safe choice on Marvel’s part after an incredibly unsafe set of movies. All signs point to time being reversed when it all comes down to it, but it is still unconfirmed.
28 CONFIRMED: The Snap Will Be Reversed
Although the time skip reversal still exists in a limbo of sorts, we do have 100% confirmation from Marvel Studios themselves that the Snap will not be permanent. We even knew this while Infinity War was still in theaters. With a massive franchise like Marvel, there’s no way they could afford not to advertise future films.
This means that Spider-Man: Far From Home, Black Panther 2, and Doctor Strange 2 were all common knowledge before Infinity War was even out. We even have production stills from the first of these films to prove that the Snap will indeed be reversed no matter what. All your Snapped heroes are coming back.
27 UNCONFIRMED: Guardians Of The Galaxy Is Over
James Gunn’s recent firing from Marvel Studios was a massive shock to just about everyone. Without getting into the specifics, Disney chose to lose Gunn instead of dealing with rather unsavory comments and tweets he made in the past. In losing Gunn, Marvel essentially lost Guardians of the Galaxy.
You can't have Guardians without Gunn.
Gunn was poised to helm Phase 4’s cosmological side, meaning the franchise’s emphasis on space might be a bit strained, but his absence might also call for the end of the Guardians franchise.
26 CONFIRMED: Phase 4 Will Open With A Spider-Man Movie
While we do know which movies will be helming the start of Phase 4, we don’t exactly know the order they’ll be in except for the very beginning. In 2019, following The Avengers 4, Phase 4 will begin with Spider-Man: Far From Home. Supposedly, the film will take place shortly after the end of The Avengers 4 and will deal quite heavily with Peter’s psyche. The title “Far From Home” likely refers both to Peter’s physical location in the film and his state of mind following the events of Phase 3.
25 UNCONFIRMED: Thor 4
Surprisingly, yet at the same time not at all, there have been talks of a fourth Thor movie. Following the hit success of Ragnarok, Thor has finally become a consistent character who can be funny and serious at the same time. Thor has never been as competently written as in Phase 3.
Naturally, Marvel wants to capitalize on this by making new movies. With the loss of James Gunn, it actually does make sense to have Thor helm the cosmos side of the MCU. At the same time, him losing his life in Phase 3 would make a good end to his arc given that he naturally can’t grow much more as a character.
24 CONFIRMED: The Avengers Are Getting New Suits
As hard as it may be to believe, the Avengers’ new suits were one of the first details to actually be leaked. In fact, they may have been the very first. Merchandise leaked incredibly early, Infinity War early, depicting the suits they would be wearing in the fourth Avengers 4. Unfortunately, they’re not great.
It's unfair how ugly these suits are.
Chrome with red highlights, the suits look absolutely juvenile. Any attempt at individual identity is robbed in favor of a uniform look that benefits nobody. Not even Iron Man, who would actually pull off such a color scheme, looks good since his head was not repainted. They’re downright lame.
23 UNCONFIRMED: An Inhumans Film
Marvel Studios has been trying to make an Inhumans films from as early as 2011. In 2014, they actually got the go-ahead to push the project further, but the inclusion of Spider-Man in Phase 3 ultimately made them shelf the project. While it seemed like the movie was effectively scrapped completely, Feige did confirm in 2016 that Inhumans could still happen in Phase 4. Should it though? The series is not particularly popular with comic readers and with the acquisition of Fox, the X-Men can actually be included in the MCU. Who needs the Inhumans when you have X-Men?
22 CONFIRMED: Professor Hulk
What do you get when Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk finally make peace with one another? Professor Hulk, of course! With the brains of Bruce Banner and the brawns of the Hulk, Professor Hulk marks the natural endpoint of Bruce’s character arc. Professor Hulk is also blatantly going to happen.
He'll beat you down with knowledge.
Not only has the MCU ditched Lou Ferrigno in favor of Mark Ruffalo doing the voice and motion capture for the Hulk, concept art for The Avengers 4 shows us a smarter, leaner version of the Hulk. He composes himself just like Bruce does in terms of physique. By the end of Phase 3, Hulk and Bruce will merge into one.
21 UNCONFIRMED: Phase 4 Won’t Be Called “Phase 4”
According to the man himself, Feige mentioned in an interview with Collider that Phase 4 may very well be renamed. Instead, Phase 4 would mark a new era for the franchise. Given how interconnected Phases 1 through 3 have been, ultimately leading up to Thanos, it does make sense to break the naming convention. At the same time, Phases are synonymous with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s perhaps for the best that Marvel Studios keeps the Phase moniker intact moving forward.
20 Almost Confirmed: Four Of The OG Avengers Won’t Make It
As the saying goes, “anyone Snapped is safe.” Basically, following the end of Infinity War, we all more or less agreed that the Snap was getting reversed. Everyone left alive, though? They’re the ones in real trouble. In fact, they’re in enough trouble where we know that only two of the original Avengers are going to survive. We don’t know which two yet, but we can likely assume that one will be Thor, considering his recent popularity, and Black Widow, considering the fact she has a movie coming up. But we’ll touch on that again later.
19 UNCONFIRMED: Tony’s Funeral
We know for a fact that Phase 3 will close out with a funeral for a prominent Avenger. What we don’t know is who said Avenger will be. Reports seem to indicate that it will either be Steve or Tony, with emphasis on the latter. While it seems highly unlikely that Tony will make it out alive, a funeral to end Phase 3 is… odd.
Mainly because it caps off the saga on the note that this was Tony’s story all along. It wasn’t, though. The MCU has been a collaborative effort. He was the origin point, but we’ve moved so far away from him since. That said, it wouldn’t be a bad way to end Phase 3. It’ll likely be emotionally compelling in its own right.
18 CONFIRMED: We’ll See More Black Widow No Matter What
Whether or not Black Widow is one of the two surviving Avengers doesn’t matter since we’re going to be seeing her in Phase 4 either way. Black Widow actually has a solo movie confirmed for the future. If she survives, that means it’s a sequel. If she doesn’t, that means it’s a prequel. To be completely honest, it seems quite unlike Marvel to toss Black Widow away after a prequel film so we can perhaps assume that she’ll survive the end of Phase 3 and play some role in Phase 4.
17 UNCONFIRMED: The Hulk Is In Captain Marvel
Easily one of the strangest theories out there at the moment is the “reveal” that The Hulk will be in Captain Marvel. One of the key characters involved in his created in the comics is actually cast for the film, meaning such a link can be made, and set reports even place the Hulk there.
Who cares about canon?
Worth noting, no reports claim that Bruce Banner is in the film, just the Hulk. This might mean that we’ll see how the Hulk was “born.” The problem is that Edward Norton’s film is canon which means that Eric Bana’s film is canon. Showing Hulk’s creation here would contradict canon.
16 CONFIRMED: War Machine’s Getting A Makeover
With all the surviving characters getting new suits, (and Iron Man himself wearing a suit over his suit,) it’s only fitting Rhodey get a new outfit as well. According to set details and rumors, War Machine will be getting a makeover heading into the next film. It’s entirely possible said makeover is the uniform one the other characters are wearing, but it is interesting that reports have singled War Machine out. Considering Phase 3 will likely mark his character’s end, it does make a bit of sense to give him something unique to go down in.
15 UNCONFIRMED: The Fantastic Four Will Appear In Captain Marvel
In the comics, the Fantastic Four play a rather important role in the Skrull storyline. It seems almost impossible to do the story without them. Given that Disney has now incorporated Fox into their being, it’s entirely possible we’ll see the Fantastic Four in the MCU. It’s just a matter of when.
Rumors seem to indicate they’ll appear at the end of Captain Marvel, but a cameo reveal honestly would not benefit them in the slightest. They’re four of Marvel’s most important characters and they should be revealed in a movie where they can be the stars. Don’t be surprised to see them in the future either way, though.
14 CONFIRMED: Cassie’s Going To Save Scott
Despite its rather lighthearted and family-friendly nature, Ant-Man and the Wasp has the single darkest after credits scene in the franchise. After the day is saved, Scott dives into the Quantum Realm for what should be a quick adventure. Unfortunately, the Snap happens and he’s left trapped in the Quantum Realm with no way out.
The greatest father-daughter duo to ever live.
Interestingly, Scott’s daughter, Cassie Lang, has been recast. Not just that, she’s been recast by an older actress. This effectively confirms the time skip and also that Cassia, upon losing her father, will dedicate her future to rescuing Scott from the Quantum Realm. In a way, it’s where their relationship has been building up to.
13 UNCONFIRMED: Tony Fights Thanos With His Own Gauntlet
One of the more interesting theories involves Tony Stark building his own Gauntlet to counteract Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet. If anyone was going to make their own Gauntlet, it would by Tony. Of course, while this idea is cool on paper, how practical is it really? It’s not rewarding to see our main characters defeat Thanos by playing by his rules. Rather, it’s more satisfying to see them earn a victory through their own abilities. Tony building a Gauntlet is neat, but it’s also a novelty. That isn’t how you end a ten-year epic.
12 CONFIRMED: Time Travel Will Play A Massive Role
Even before Infinity War released, we had access to production still that showed us scenes from The Avengers 1. What was once believed to simply be a flashback sequence quickly turned into something all the more important as images of Scott Lang and Tony Stark showed up on set.
For starters, Scott wasn't in that film. More pressingly, Tony is in his modern style indicating that the two are going back in time during the course of the film. Time travel will likely be used as a way of reversing Thanos’ Snap while also giving the heroes a fighting shot at defeating him in their future.
11 UNCONFIRMED: Thanos Won’t Be The Main Villain
It’s hard to imagine the Marvel Cinematic Universe without Thanos’ presence looming over it, but it’s simply a reality we all have to accept. Perhaps sooner than we were expecting, though. If rumors are true, Thanos will be dealt with before the end of the film and a new antagonist will take his place: Kang.
There is a resemblance.
According to rumors, Tony Stark supposedly becomes Kang in an alternate reality and it’s up to his present self to defeat his future self. Honestly, while it makes sense to include Kang eventually, this is an incredibly poor way of doing so. It recontextualizes the Marvel universe around Tony while also doing a disservice to his character and Thanos.