Marvel's Avengers 4 will be the culmination of 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and even though Infinity War has laid the groundwork, there's still a bunch of questions. First of all, there are spoilers for Infinity War below, so read ahead at your own risk. The events in Avengers 3 were jarring, to say the least. Even though the Russo Brothers as well as screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus prepared MCU fans for the worst, many were still caught off guard by the deaths of so many characters.

The dark undertones of Infinity War are expected to lead directly into Avengers 4, which makes complete sense. It doesn't seem like Thanos obtaining all of the Infinity Stones and snapping his fingers will be something that is forgotten any time soon, especially since hardcore MCU fans have been going to see Infinity War multiple times in the theater looking for any possible hints that they can find to set up Avengers 4. While there are some, Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have gone out of their way to keep everything under wraps with the Russo Brothers.

That being said, Marvel Studios did an amazing job of keeping everything secret about the plot of Infinity War for so long. Not even the stars of the movie were able to see the final cut until the world premiere, which was only a few days before the general public was able to see the movie. The Russo Brothers even went as far as to make fake scripts for certain members of the cast who have been known to accidentally leak secrets to fans and the press.

In between the release of Infinity War and Avengers 4 are the releases of Ant-Man 2 as well as Captain Marvel, both of which are said to have meaningful ties to the final movie in Phase 3 of the MCU. Though those movies are not out yet, it seems logical that the ending of Ant-Man 2 and Captain Marvel will have big implications to the events in Avengers 4. Carol Danvers involvement has already been teased at the end of Infinity War, and there are some more details about her role in Avengers 4 that we will discuss below.

As for Ant-Man, aka Scott Lang, the character was left out of Infinity War along with Hawkeye, leading to a lot of speculation about their roles in Avengers 4, which will again, be discussed below. Most of the information about Avengers 4 has been obtained with interviews with the cast, screenwriters, directors, as well as Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige. In addition, set photos have also given some pretty exciting looks into what the future holds. So, what can we expect when Avengers 4 hits the big screen?

16 Avengers 4 title and release date

The release date for the still untitled Avengers 4 is May 3rd, 2019, unless Marvel Studios and Disney decide to push the release date up like they did with Infinity War. If the movie is kept under as tight a lid as Avengers 3, one can easily see the release date getting moved up a week to prevent overseas spoilers. As far as the title is concerned, that is a heavily debated topic at the moment. Kevin Feige has officially shut down the Infinity Gauntlet title, but there are others out there like Avengers: Endgame. Endgame is a fan-favorite at the moment because it is uttered by Doctor Strange in Infinity War as well as Tony Stark in Age of Ultron. The Russo Brothers have said that the title of Avengers 4 will speak to the heart of the story. Avengers: Disassembled has also been thrown around, which is a nod to the comics.

15 Thanos will return

Fans of the MCU who stuck around during the marathon credits of Infinity War were treated to a post-credit scene with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury sending out a message to Captain Marvel before turning to dust. Even after that, fans expected to see the famous note that the Avengers with return. However, the Russo Brothers played a dark trick and said, "Thanos will return," instead, adding insult to injury and some jeers from movie audiences all over the world. Screenwriter Stephen McFeely has called Infinity War Thanos' hero's journey and he did succeed, so he will definitely be around for Avengers 4. Thanos actor Josh Brolin has said that the character is finite, meaning that we probably won't see much of the character after Avengers 4.

14 Some time travel will be involved

Thanks to pictures from the set of Avengers 4, we know that there will be some elements of time travel or flashback involved. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Evans were spotted on a New York set in the costumes from the first Avengers movie in what looks like a reenactment of the Battle of New York set. The actors also had the same hair styles from that specific time period as well. One notable difference was that Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man was there when he clearly was not around for the first Battle of New York. The leaked set photos also provided a look at the characters will unknown devices strapped to their hands, which could be a device invented by Hank Pym to navigate the Quantum Realm.

13 Avengers 4 is the finale for Phase 3 of the MCU

It is widely known that Avengers 4 will end the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we currently know it. Infinity War was the beginning of the end, and Avengers 4 will be the end of Phase 3 of the MCU. James Gunn has revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will begin Phase 4, which is rumored to focus on the cosmic element of Marvel Comics. However, Avengers 4 will include characters that will end up in the next phase, like Captain Marvel and it looks like it will bring the Avengers back full circle, to New York, along with Scott Lang, who was not there the first time around.

12 Characters that died will be back, but not all of them

Again, thanks to behind-the-scenes set photos from Avengers 4, we know that some characters will return after getting killed in Infinity War. However, it isn't clear if they will be shown in flashbacks or some kind of time travel or even some type of parallel universe. Zoe Saldana was spotted on the set as was Tom Hiddleston and Paul Bettany, so it seems that the characters that even had "final" deaths will have something to do with the plot of Avengers 4. There have been different theories indicating that Gamora could be in the Soul World after Thanos sacrificed her for the Soul Stone, which could be pretty interesting to see. Dave Bautista has confirmed that Drax will be back for Avengers 4 and so will Star-Lord. As screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have said, these deaths are meant to be final, so we'll have to see how these characters are used for the movie. There's also the exploration through time and space, which means that the deaths can be prevented while also messing with the timeline.

11 A massive scene will have every character in the MCU on screen

While promoting Infinity War, Sebastian Stan gave away what everybody thought was a spoiler for Avengers 3. However, the scene that Stan spoke of was definitely not in the movie. Instead, it is believed that there will be a huge scene in Avengers 4 that will include everybody, even the characters who were killed off during the events of Infinity War, plus new additions like Brie Larson's Captain Marvel and Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet van Dyne. Stan had this to say about the gigantic scene.

"There was one scene, I think, we had where everybody was there. I can't really talk about that scene, but I knew it took them three months in planning this scene to have everyone there. You look around and you just saw everyone from Samuel L. Jackson to Michael Douglas to Michelle Pfeiffer. Everybody was there."

10 Captain Marvel will join The Avengers

Even though the Russo Brothers had told fans at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con that Brie Larson's Captain Marvel would not be in Infinity War, there were still several fans who were disappointed by her absence. However, she was alluded to during the post-credit scene where Nick Fury messaged her. Avengers 4 screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have said that Carol Danvers will have a substantial role and that she will bring her military background with her, which will be needed. Again, Captain Marvel will tie into Avengers 4 in a meaningful way, according to McFeely and Markus.

9 Clint Barton will return as Ronin

Set photos from Avengers 4 featured Jeremy Renner, who was sorely missing from Infinity War, in a new suit that closely resembles his Ronin costume from the comics. In addition, there were some scenes that were filmed in Japan (Ronin is Japanese term for a masterclass samurai), leading many to believe that Clint Barton has been hiding out in Japan. Scarlet Johansson was spotted on the Japanese set as well, which may point to Black Widow traveling overseas to gain the help of Hawkeye or Ronin. His return will be a welcome one since MCU fans were so unhappy that he didn't make an appearance in Infinity War.

8 It won't reverse all of the events of Infinity War

Screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have revealed that Avengers 4 will not reverse all of the events of Infinity War. The screenwriters have warned fans that the deaths will be real, which is something that the Russo Brothers also said before Avengers 3 was released. This has led to much speculation that the theories of time travel have been squashed and deemed too obvious. However, a new theory suggests that Thanos may have caused a second Big Bang, creating a parallel universe. McFeely had this to say about the deaths being final in Avengers 4.

"Avengers 4 doesn't do what you think it does. It is a different movie than you think it is. Also... (the deaths are) real. I just want to tell you it's real, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be able to move on to the next stage of grief."

7 Will there be a time jump forward?

New theories suggest that Avengers 4 will start after a time jump of several years. The theory makes sense from leaked set photos that show Tony Stark with lighter hair and wearing a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. It will take the Avengers some time to figure out what happened and reconnect after losing half of the universe from the snap of Thanos' fingers. It's all pure speculation at this point, but it seems likely. There's no way that the surviving Avengers will be able to regroup that soon after that tragic event.

6 Avengers 4 will be more shocking than Infinity War

Chris Hemsworth has said that the events of Infinity War are going to pale in comparison to what happens in Avengers 4. Screenwriter Christopher McFeely has echoed the same sentiment, but Hemsworth is more excited for MCU fans to see the 4th installment than he was for them to see number 3. The Thor actor was also blown away because of the differences between the two films. He had this to say.

"If you were shocked by Infinity War, I think the second one is even more shocking, for other reasons entirely. That's what kind of blew me away the first time I read both scripts..."

5 Ant-Man 2 and the Quantum Realm will play a significant role

Avengers 4 screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have revealed that Ant-Man 2 and the Quantum Realm will be a significant factor. In the promotional footage from Ant-Man 2, Hank Pym shows off a vehicle that is meant to travel safely within the Quantum Realm, which could end up how the surviving members are able to go back in time or to another dimension. The devices shown on the return to the Battle of New York behind-the-scenes pictures could be some of Hank Pym's new technology. Carol Danvers is also mysteriously connected to Quantum Realm as well.

4 There will be another Jim Starlin-created character involved

Jim Starlin revealed in a Q&A that another one of his characters will show up in Avengers 4. However, Starlin did not go into details about the mystery character, but there has been some speculation as to who it could be. Thanos' father A'lars is the main contender since Red Skull mentioned him in Infinity War. Thanos' brother Eros, aka Starfox, and his grandfather Kronos were both created by Jim Starlin and could realistically be used in Avengers 4 as well. Characters that have been officially ruled out are Lady Death and Adam Warlock.

3 Will Quicksilver return?

The spotting of Quicksilver actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has all but guaranteed that the character will return for Avengers 4. But, it isn't clear how the character, or any other deceased character for that matter, will be utilized. There could be flashbacks or the time travel/universe hoping could play a role. If the Quantum Realm elements are to be believed, going back could potentially mess with the timeline of the MCU.

2 When will we see the first Avengers 4 trailer?

If Avengers 4 follows the same promotional patterns as Infinity War, it will be quite a while before we see a teaser trailer or any footage for that matter. That being said, we still don't have the official title for the movie, which the Russo Brothers warned would be a while before we learned what it is. A good guess would be that we will see teaser trailers released by the end of the year, or quite possibly when the Infinity War Blu-ray is released in the middle of August. The general public didn't see any footage of Avengers 3 until November, so it seems that Marvel Studios might follow the same pattern.

1 When will Avengers 4 tickets for go on sale?

This will also depend on what Marvel Studios decides to do with the promotional campaign this time around. However, if the studio decides to follow the same pattern as Infinity War, the tickets will more than likely go on sale 6 weeks before the premiere of the movie. Again, Marvel Studios really flipped the script with the promotion of Infinity War, which means that they could be attacking Avengers 4 in a completely different manner from the last movie. It will probably also depend on how much information about the movie is leaked online as well as if the studio decides to push the release date up again.