Avengers: Endgame – 8 revelations about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

*WARNING: Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame*

Avengers: Endgame marks the end of an era. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought to a close what it calls the “Infinity Saga”, an overarching narrative that has spanned 22 films released over a decade, which began with 2008’s Iron Man.

It’s a tribute to all that has come before, including the six original Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Thor) who formed the foundations of a massive cinematic empire. But this grand finale has also planted the seeds of new beginnings, with Endgame dropping several hints as to what the future of the MCU will look like.

Here are eight revelations that may play an important part in the next series of films.

A new leader

(AP)

The hype around Captain Marvel’s [Brie Larson] introduction earlier this year has long-suggested she’s set to become the de facto leader of whatever may rise out of the ashes of Endgame. Original Avengers are still kicking around in this universe, and it’s not unlikely that they’ll make the occasional cameo.

Hawkeye [Jeremy Renner] is almost certainly retiring to be with his family (although he will act as a mentor, more on that later), while the now-Professor Hulk [Mark Ruffalo] will likely offer more brains than brawn in the future. Thor [Chris Hemsworth] has ended up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and, after handing over rule of New Asgard to Valkyrie, it looks like he’s more interested in fulfilling his dreams of having zero path and zero responsibilities.

Then there are the slightly newer characters, who will also likely still have active roles in the franchise: namely Doctor Strange [Benedict Cumberbatch] (who has a sequel in the works), Scarlet Witch, Bucky Barnes, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. War Machine and Pepper Potts (in her new Rescue suit) feel too closely tied to the late Tony Stark [Robert Downey Jr] to continue making much of an appearance in future films. However, there are three characters that now, arguably, will be taking the MCU spotlight: Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, and Black Panther. It also seems likely that Sam Wilson, formely known as Falcon, will play a major role in the future now that he’s inherited the mantle of Captain America – how much so, however, is hard to tell at this point.

Of course, Peter Parker has to graduate high school first, and is a more likely candidate to lead a Young Avengers-type group. Black Panther [Chadwick Boseman] is already a leader and it’s hard to imagine he’d leave Wakanda behind to head up a different organisation. It’s Captain Marvel (AKA Carol Danvers) who’s been perfectly set-up as forefront of this new generation of heroes. She’s likely realised that without The Avengers, Earth isn’t quite as secure in its defences as it once was. It’s telling that the funeral scene – where the camera moves past the different superhero teams, essentially laying out the future of the MCU – has Carol standing on the steps, looking over everyone. With Nick Fury at her side, could it be that her next step is to form a brand new iteration of The Avengers?

Diverging timelines

As the Ancient One stressed to Hulk in 2012 New York, any changes made to the past immediately creates a parallel timeline. That’s why she was initially so reluctant to hand over the Time Stone, since that would create a reality where she and Doctor Strange would be unable to stop the forces of evil from causing mass misery. Luckily, Captain America returned all the Infinity Stones and presumably set things straight. There’s one big problem, however: back in 2014, when Guardians of the Galaxy is meant to have taken place, Thanos discovered the Avengers’s time travelling plan, bringing himself, Gamora, Nebula, and a giant army of allies forward to 2023. He is then snapped out of existence by Tony, while Nebula is killed and Gamora goes missing, since Star-Lord is searching for her at the end of the film.

That means there is a timeline where we see everything as it happened onscreen, but also a newly created one where Thanos died and never collected the Infinity Stones. Therefore, the events of Infinity War and Endgame never happened. Furthermore, the Guardians of the Galaxy would never have formed, since Star-Lord and Gamora wouldn’t have crossed paths while they were both after the Power Stone. There’s also the small issue of Captain America altering the timeline so that he could go back and live a lifetime with Peggy – but that’s arguably a lot less damaging to events than a missing Thanos. Now, it could easily be that the MCU simply ignores these diverging timelines and continues forward as normal. But, there’s also the potential that they might somehow feed into future storylines. Could the concept of parallel timelines even offer a way to introduce the X-Men and Deadpool into the MCU?

The next Hawkeye

It’s perhaps notable that, in the film’s opening scene, we see Clint Barton (otherwise known as Hawkeye) giving his daughter Lila archery training. He even calls her ‘Hawkeye” at one point. Could she take over the mantle from her father? Well, it’s not quite that simple. It’s already been announced that a Disney+ series will introduce Kate Bishop to the MCU who, in the comics, is the one to inherit the Hawkeye title from Clint. So where does that leave Lila? Could there be some kind of partnership between Kate and Lila down the line? Or will Clint manage to convince his daughter not to walk the same path as him, considering everything he went through during Endgame? There’s some interesting potential here.

The Young Avengers

(Marvel/Disney)

Speaking of Kate Bishop, she’s known for being a member of the Young Avengers team alongside the likes America Chavez (AKA Miss America) and Cassie Lang – who we already know in the MCU as Ant-Man’s teenage daughter. The franchise has quietly introduced a series of younger characters that could potentially lay the groundwork for a new team. Spider-Man is a potential candidate here, alongside Shuri. Maybe even Iron Man’s daughter, Morgan H Stark, could one day take on her father’s mantle – although that won’t be for a few years yet, considering she was still a little girl in Endgame.

New Asgard

There’s plenty of potential for continued adventures here. Valkyrie has been established as the King of New Asgard in a small fishing settlement that could be Norway, where Odin died in Thor: Ragnarok, but is hinted at being Scotland from the bottle of Irn-Bru visible in Thor’s cabin. Plus, she could be joined by two fan favourite sidekicks: Korg and Miek. Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie, has discussed Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok’s director, who also plays Korg) pitching Thor 4 to Marvel Studios. She could have been skirting around a major spoiler here: that it’s, in fact, a solo Valkyrie film that will happen, taking into account her new role as a ruler.

Thor joins the Guardians

That would make sense considering that Thor seems to have integrated himself into the Guardians of the Galaxy. Could he star in the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3? It seems possible, although it’d be difficult to sustain the established rivalry between Thor and Star-Lord for an entire film, considering the general dynamics of the group rely so heavily on Peter Quill’s leadership. What’s more likely is that Thor will hang around for a while before being dropped off at a convenient location (most likely a bar), leaving the Guardians to continue their next adventure in earnest.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

That adventure may have been subtly set up at the end of Endgame, when we glimpse Star-Lord covertly trying to search for Gamora, who went missing after the battle with Thanos. The plot of the next Guardians film may centre on that search and, if/when they finally locate her, the difficulties of integrating her back into the team. After all, this is a Gamora that time travelled from 2014, has no relationship with the Guardians and, in particular, has zero feelings for Peter Quill. That could make for some interesting dramatic tension, particularly if they’re forced to team-up to neutralise a greater threat.

The five-year gap

This would be less of a future story for the MCU and more of a question that will need answering. As we know, everyone who was snapped and came back has essentially lost five years of their life – the time that passed between the Snap and the return of the Fallen. For most characters, that probably doesn’t mean a great deal for their stories, but what about Spider-Man? He’s a high-schooler who’s unsnapped classmates that will presumably have already graduated and will now be attending college. Will this be dealt with in Spider-Man: Far From Home? Is it going to be a lucky coincidence that all his friends were also snapped, or will MJ now suddenly be in her early 20s?

Avengers: Endgame is out now