When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nothing has emphasized the ‘shared world’ aspect of this franchise than the Avengers movies. 2012’s The Avengers brought Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye together for the first time, and the three following movies centered on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have naturally been among the most important Marvel movies. However, a strange word choice from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has posed an unexpected question: will we get Avengers 5?
For those interested in a behind-the-scenes look at how last November’s Eternals was made, Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Eternals is now available for people with a Disney+ subscription to watch. There a lot of goodies to pour over concerning Chloé Zhao’s Marvel movie, but around the beginning of the video, while covering the origins of Eternals, Kevin Feige said the following:
Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now past their tenth anniversary and with the release of the final Avengers movie, we've finally completed a 22-movie Infinity Saga.
It’s Kevin Feige use of the word “final” when referring to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame that’s perplexing. If he’d called it the “last” Avengers movie, then that would have been understandable. In the proper context, Endgame was indeed the last Avengers movie to come out, but it doesn’t close the door on future Avengers movies. It also would have made perfect sense to say “latest” or “most recent” instead.
Instead, Kevin Feige went with “final,” which makes it sound like there aren’t anymore Avengers movies on the way. To be fair, maybe he meant that Avengers: Endgame was the final Avengers movie in the Infinity Saga, but that would still be an odd way to word such a sentiment. Also, if Feige were to drop the bombshell that Avengers 5 isn’t coming, a behind-the-scenes special on Eternals is a weird place to drop such news.
As far as the MCU film slate that’s been revealed to the public goes though, Avengers 5 is not slotted anywhere. Date-wise, we’re covered on MCU movies until July 28, 2023, but then we also have plenty of non-dated flicks to look forward to, like the Fantastic Four reboot, the Blade reboot, Captain America 4 and Shang-Chi 2. So if we’re reading too much into Kevin Feige’s statement and Avengers 5 is actually in development, we still shouldn’t expect it for a long time.
On the other hand, even if we work off the assumption that Avengers 5 isn’t happening, that doesn’t mean we’ll never see the Avengers again. There’s more crossover between both MCU movies and the Disney+ TV shows than ever, so it stands that in one of these projects, the Avengers could show up, even if they’re not the focus of the story. Plus, we could still get another Avengers-level team-up movie without it being called an Avengers movie. If a film adaptation of Secret Wars is indeed in the works, then Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will definitely be needed to combat whatever threat has presented itself, among other teams, groups, etc.
For now, we’re left in the dark about what the Avengers’ status is in Phase 4, but as soon as any details trickle in, we’ll pass them along. If you’re not in the loop about what the MCU has primed for the silver screen in the coming years, look through our lineup of upcoming Marvel movies.
