How Will Infinity War Change the Avengers in Marvel Phase 4?

Phase Twohas come to an end, afterMarvel’s summer hitsAvengers: Age of UltronandAnt-Man. Now fans have the massivePhase Threeto look forward to, which will span nine movies instead of six, like the previous two phases, and will culminate with the two-part adventureAvengers: Infinity War Part IandAvengers: Infinity War - Part II, arriving in theaters in 2018 and 2019, respectively. ProducerKevin Feigerevealed during a recent Q&A (viaScreen Rant) that the two-part sequel will not only bring an end toPhase Three, but also to a much larger part of theMarvel Cinematic Universeas a whole. Here’s what he had to say when asked to describePhase Three.

“Broad strokes. Strokes that are broad enough and loose enough that - in the development of the four or five movies before we move into our culmination - allow us room to sway and move and surprise ourselves. All these movies, ultimately, should feel as if they were interconnected, all planned far ahead, and yet still pivot and breathe as individual films.Phase Threeis definitely an end to some version of the team we’ve come to know asThe Avengers. The team will always be evolving. The roster is always changing. You may pick up anAvengersbook ten years later and not recognize the people on the cover. It’s not going to be the end of theMarvelcinematic universe, certainly, but it will be an end to part of it.”

ThroughoutPhase OneandPhase Two, fans were introduced to a number of mystical items that were identified inAvengers: Age of Ultronas being Infinity Stones. We have only seen four of the six stones that fit into theInfinity Gauntlet. The Tesseract, a.k.a. the Space Stone, was first revealed inCaptain America: The First Avenger, followed by the Aether (Reality Stone) fromThor: The Dark World, the Orb (Power Stone) fromGuardians of the Galaxyand the Mind Stone from Loki’s scepter, which is currently housed in the android Vision, fromAvengers: Age of Ultron. The two stones that have not been unveiled yet are the Soul Stone and the Time Stone, butKevin Feigeconfirmed that these stones will be unveiled inPhase Three.

“You will absolutely see the other two [Infinity Stones] sometime inPhase Three. After all, there’s a Gauntlet that needs to be filled. It really began with Iron Man 2, building out the architecture for the entirety of Phase One. The notion of the Tesseract being not only the thing that ties Phase One together but that can also be a major part of Phase Two. I can’t say that it was all perfectly laid out in 2009, but that was certainly the genesis of it. For example, we always knew going intoAvengers: Age of Ultronthat the stone in Loki’s scepter that would eventually end up inVision’s head. But others come out of more simple, structural plot needs. A filmmaker might say, okay, there’s a mysterious orb driving this story. At which point, we’ll suggest, alright, then let’s put something inside that orb.”

The first movie ofPhase Three,Captain America: Civil War, recently wrapped production, with production about to get under way onDoctor StrangeandGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. There is very little we know about both projects, but earlier this month, directorJames Gunnpostedphotosfrom his going-away party, before he left to start pre-production onGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2in Atlanta.Kevin Feigeconfirmed that directorJames Gunnand his team recently left for Atlanta, and that all of Marvel’s efforts are currently going into that.

‘Certainly Thanos and the Infinity Stones are the connection between all these movies. Especially Guardians. When and if those specific characters start switching remains to be seen. The Guardians 2 team just left for Atlanta on Monday to start the movie, so all our effort and thought is going directly into that - which is shaping up very nicely right now."

Avengers: Infinity War Part IandAvengers: Infinity War - Part IIwill both be directed byAnthony RussoandJoe Russo, who recently wrapped principal photography onCaptain America: Civil War. They will be reunited withCaptain America: The Winter SoldierandCaptain America: Civil WarscreenwritersChristopher MarkusandStephen McFeely, who are writing both movies. Do you have any theories about how Infinity War could change the MCU leading intoPhase Four? Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more details.