Most of us haven't even had a first look at Avengers 3, but the filming of Avengers 4 appears to be in full swing and the movie has traveled to a very interesting place to film its next scenes. Well, it hasn't actually traveled anywhere, What Avengers 4 has done is built some very colorful and lively sets at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta which will represent the place the story will go, Japan.
You can check out the set images thanks to @MCU_Tweets and you'll see several outdoor sets meant to create a modern, if not slightly futuristic Japan. We don't see much in the images themselves, just extras and crew members on the set, so we have zero context for what we see. Still, the sets look great. If you've never been to Japan, then these sets might as well be the real thing. While this is the first we've seen of the sets that will apparently take the Avengers to Japan, it's not the first we've heard of the story taking place there. Recently, there was a casting call for extras who were going to be playing the part of Yakuza members. If the Japanese mob was going to be part of the plot, then it certainly made sense that the movie would go to Japan.
Of course, why the Yakuza are part of Avengers 4 is still anybody's guess at this point. Ever since the fourth Avengers movie lost the title of Infinity War: Part II, exactly what the movie will be dealing with has been a mystery. While we still don't expect the story of Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet to come to a close at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the fact is that most of the comic book story the plot is based on doesn't even take place on Earth, so whatever leads the characters to Japan is either a significant change in the story or a completely different story.
Of course, the answer to these questions is likely going to be held close to Marvel for the foreseeable future. The release of any significant plot details of Avengers 4 doesn't just spoil that movie, but it also runs the risks of spoiling Avengers: Infinity War. When actor Paul Bettany tells us that he's working on Avengers 4 it reveals that he's going to survive the previous film, something that we can't be certain will be the case for every character. If we know why certain characters find themselves in Japan, it may reveal a great deal about how Avengers: Infinity War will end.
We still have two more episodes of the MCU before we get to Avengers 3 and two more before we get to Avengers 4. Perhaps we'll get a hint of where the MCU is going somewhere along the way. Avengers 4 will close out the current phase of the MCU in May of 2019.
