What if Marvel decided sideline Thor, Captain America and the other big guns for Avengers 3? If Guardians of the Galaxy proved anything, it's that the studio can make team movies work using mostly unknown characters.

BadAss Digest refutes rumors of Avengers 3 being split into two movies to somehow get around the ending contracts of Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr. But writer Devin Faraci contends that in the process of debunking one rumor, he's unearthed another: that Avengers 3 could serve as a springboard to introduce other characters, with the franchise mainstays being brought back for whatever film follows.

Faraci speculates that the next film could be a huge crossover in the style of Infinity Gauntlet, which heavily features Thanos, who was introduced at the end of The Avengers and lurked in the shadows of Guardians of the Galaxy. In theory, this next project could be used to not only bring in all of the Marvel movie stars, including new additions from Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, but also the ones from the developing Netflix series and ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.