We are now six months removed from the release of Avengers: Infinity War and still very much in the dark about Avengers 4. Sure there are assumptions we can make about this film and there is plenty to speculate about as to what will happen, who will die and how the MCU will put a stamp on Phase 3 and its first ten years. But while theories are ubiquitous, facts are hard to come by.
We don't know what Avengers 4 will officially be about, we haven't seen any stills or footage from the film, and we don't even know what it's called. Yet it looks like that is about to change. We've speculated about when the Avengers 4 trailer is going to drop, and we now know that it is set to arrive before year's end.
With the knowledge that our wait is almost over in hand, our focus can turn from when the trailer will arrive to what it will show. As in what do we want to see? We know so little about the film's story that a lot of our hopes for the trailer are based on speculation, leaks and rumors about what we think will be in this movie. So here are eight things we want to see in the first Avengers 4 trailer.
Hawkeye
Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye was absent from the Avengers: Infinity War marketing, and that bore out in the film itself with everyone's favorite archer missing in action. Marvel could hold back Hawkeye again before finally delivering him in Avengers 4, but we know he's definitely in this tale. So I'd like to see him in the first trailer for the film, just to remind audiences and Hawkeye fans that the Avenger has not been forgotten.
It seems that the Russo Brothers have a plan for Clint Barton, and whether that involves his family being snapped out of existence or him taking on the Ronin identity, hopefully we'll get to see something from him in the trailer for Avengers 4. The trailer doesn't have to tell us what his exact story will be, but just a shot of him or a line of dialogue would be good.
The Timeline
There have been rumors and slips from the cast indicating that Avengers 4 will feature a time jump that deals with our heroes and their lives years after Thanos' universe altering genocide. Evidence of a time jump includes Scott Lang's daughter Cassie potentially being played by an older actress, as well as Tony Stark and Pepper Potts possibly settled down with a child of their own.
If such a time jump happens, it would be beneficial for the first Avengers 4 trailer to give us a sense of when this story takes place (although we know that may be a fluid question if time travel is involved). Time jumps are powerful storytelling devices, and showing the surviving Avengers in an unfamiliar future in the first trailer would be a compelling way to set the stage for the Avengers 4 story.
Thanos
Thanos was arguably the main character of Avengers: Infinity War, and through a certain lens, Josh Brolin's protagonist won a hard-fought battle and rode off into the sunset as a hero. Given his importance on the story and really his overarching influence on the first decade of the MCU, Thanos should be in the first Avengers 4 trailer.
Whether we see him in battle, trying to fix his gauntlet or just sipping Mai Tais while watching the sun rise on a grateful universe, it would be good to see what Thanos is up to now that his life's work is finally realized. There are reasons to believe that there may be another villain in this film, and while I don't expect the trailer to reveal that, I hope it still reminds everyone what a threat the Mad Titan remains.
The Aftermath Of The Snap
This kind of goes hand in hand with the potential time jump, and it just depends on what this movie chooses to cover and what it skips past. That said, I could see Avengers 4 picking up right after the snap, and then jump forward in time. Avengers: Infinity War ended the story in media res and there are a lot of questions about what happened next.
Tony Stark and Nebula were stuck on Titan and the survivors in Wakanda were left shell-shocked after the snap, so hopefully the trailer for Avengers 4 provides some clarity on the aftermath of that. How did Aunt May react to Peter's disappearance? And how did Earth and the universe at large respond in the wake of such unfathomable loss? Giving us a peek at the aftermath of the snap and how it affected Earth's Mightiest Heroes would tie this trailer back to Infinity War and remind everyone of the stakes.
Not Too Much
It might sound weird given the dearth of information or footage so far that I don't want to see too much from the Avengers 4 trailer, but I think one of the most important things about the Avengers 4 trailer is that it doesn't give away more than it should. I'm primarily referring to the snapped-away Avengers and the exact sequence of events that returns them to a mortal coil.
Speaking with io9, Kevin Feige said that characters like Black Panther, who disappeared in Avengers: Infinity War, would not show up in the marketing for Avengers 4, and I hope that bears out. The marketing for Avengers: Infinity War held back Thor's arrival in Wakanda and the Soul Stone quest on Vormir, and hopefully the Avengers 4 trailer also holds back some of its more crucial elements. Part of the excitement of Avengers 4 will be seeing how Thanos is defeated and the mechanism that returns half the universe from the dead, and giving away too much of that in the trailer would do the movie a disservice.
The Quantum Realm
Although Ant-Man and the Wasp felt very much apart from Avengers: Infinity War (minus that whiplash of a reminder in the end-credits), there is reason to believe that Ant-Man and the Quantum Realm will play a big part in Avengers 4. Specifically, the Quantum Realm potentially be the avenue for time travel that undoes Thanos' snap.
If that's the case and the Quantum Realm factors in heavily to Avengers 4, it would be good for the trailer to show some of that, perhaps convincing those who skipped Ant-Man and the Wasp that it's required viewing prior to Avengers 4. Showing the Quantum Realm and presumably Ant-Man himself would also do a good job of tying the two latest MCU films together and giving us an inkling of the path the heroes will take to defeat Thanos.
Captain Marvel
I debated about whether or not I want to see Captain Marvel in the Avengers 4 trailer or if I want her held back. While it was close, I ultimately landed on including her. I would feel differently if the Captain Marvel trailer hadn't released first, but since it has and since we all know she'll be in the movie, I don't think it will be too spoilerish to show Brie Larson's heroine.
As far as what I'd like to see from her in the trailer, I definitely don't want to see her engaging Thanos (presuming she does at some point in the film), but seeing her in action would be great. It would also be cool to get a glimpse of her first meeting with one of the surviving Avengers or Guardians and some hints as to how exactly she will fit in to the story.
Time Travel
Thanks to some leaked set photos, it seems probable that Avengers 4 will involve some time travel. This likely ties in to the Quantum Realm and will serve as the method that our heroes use to undo Thanos' genocide. Assuming that's the case, it would make sense to show some time travel in the first trailer to set up the story of the movie and there's actually a really cool way to do it.
In any case, some of the leaks indicate that the heroes may be revisiting The Battle of New York from the first Avengers film. Assuming that's true, it would make for a killer way to end the first trailer for Avengers 4. We could see the Avengers in the Battle of New York and assume it's a flashback or just a way for the trailer to acknowledge the history of this universe, only to then see an older Tony Stark and Ant-Man there, indicating this is not what it seems. It would be a great way to bring this saga full circle and tease the time travel shenanigans Avengers 4 has in store.
