It's only a matter of time before all the speculation is done with and we lay our eyes on the final chapter of one of cinema's greatest achievements. As we get closer to Avengers 4, speculation is running wild as we try to piece together the details from all the small hints, concept art, and leaked photos we've seen so far. While not finalized by any stretch of the imagination, the ever-growing roster of heroes and villains slated to appear in the movie brings in newer, long-anticipated characters such as Captain Marvel, and a small army of some of our favorite MCU characters from the last ten years.
With so many characters and only so much screentime though, we are naturally more excited for some characters than others. Avengers 4 marks an important transition in the MCU, so there are plenty of loose ends and character arcs that are just begging for a satisfying conclusion. And as some of the veteran Avengers get ready for their MCU swan song, there's plenty of anticipation to see who will take their place. In contrast, there are some characters who could return or not return for Avengers 4, and we wouldn't care too much either way. Here are just a handful of the characters that we can't wait/hope to see return for Avengers 4, and some that we really could care less about. Since we all have a vested interest in the original MCU Avengers, we've left most of them out of this list to focus on other heroes and villains.
20 WANT TO SEE: HAWKEYE
While it's no surprise Clint Barton will be back for Avengers 4, it's certainly about time. Much like Ant-Man, Hawkeye cut a deal with the powers at large to protect his family and didn't have a part in Infinity War.
We're more than ready for Hawkeye to join up with the Avengers again, although based on set photos, it looks like Barton will suit up as Ronin and not Hawkeye. This costume change supposedly happens after Barton's family is snapped away (RIP, adorable Barton family), so while we're definitely going to see Barton again, he certainly won't be the same archer we saw in Civil War.
19 DON'T CARE: MANTIS
At this point in the game, Mantis doesn't' have a lot to offer Avengers 4. While she could be brought back along with the other dust-bound heroes, it's doubtful that her powers will be much use against Thanos and a completed Infinity Gauntlet. Her character hasn't had much in the way of real development, so we aren't waiting with bated breath to see what happens to her.
Sure, she's funny enough, but in a movie full of superheroes throwing out one-liners as fast as punches, her absence wouldn't affect the outcome or the feel of the movie much at all.
18 WANT TO SEE: KORG
With the massive line-up of characters slated for Avengers 4, we certainly hope there's a spot reserved for Korg. While the loveable rock giant was technically on the Asgardian ship when Thanos attacked it in Infinity War, we haven't seen Korg since his debut in Ragnarok.
And even after the dust settled in Infinity War, whether or not Korg survived the attack is still up for debate. Kevin Feige has hinted that we haven't seen the last of Korg or his sidekick Meik, but not everyone at Marvel (namely, screenwriter Christopher Markus), is as optimistic. Hopefully, the hapless revolutionary will return and make an appearance in Avengers 4.
17 WANT TO SEE: SHURI
With the King of Wakanda currently reduced to a small pile of dust, there is a Balck Panther-shaped hole just waiting for someone to fill it. Shuri was among the few Wakandans to survive both the Battle of Wakanda and Thanos' snap, and with T'challa gone (at least temporarily), she is also heir to Wakanda's throne and the mantle of the Black Panther.
Sure, we definitely want T'challa to come back, Shuri if becomes the Black Panther before the Avengers save the day and bring everyone back, we don't definitely won't complain. Either way, we're glad she's coming back for Avengers 4.
16 DON'T CARE: MIEK
Miek is another character we haven't seen since Ragnarok, and like Korg, his fate after Infinity War isn't that clear. Unlike Korg though we aren't holding our breath to see if Miek will show up for Avengers 4.
Sure, he's about as entertaining as a giant bug with knives on his hands can be, but so far he hasn't been much more than a prop in the MCU. If he ends up in Avengers 4, we'd only know about it because Korg would make a comment about it. If we don't see him though, no one's losing any sleep over it.
15 WANT TO SEE: SPIDER-MAN
While there's a whole list of characters we want back from the "grave" in Avengers 4, Spider-Man easily tops the list. Peter Parker turning to dust in front of Tony Stark was nothing less than traumatizing (for Stark and for everyone else). Because of his spider-sense, he knew he was dying before he actually turned to dust, and his final exchange with Iron Man left audiences absolutely shook.
And while we doubt Spider-Man will be one of the characters who will stay gonewhen the dust settles, we're still counting down the days until we get him back in all his web-slinging glory.
14 WANT TO SEE: LOKI
Unlike the half of existence that disappeared in Thanos' snap of dust, Loki suffered a very real end in Infinity War. And just to be sure we didn't get our hopes up, Thanos confirmed Loki's demise with the ominous declaration that there would be "no resurrections."
Of course, with time travel and the entire Infinity Gauntlet in play, we'll still get to see Loki in Avengers 4, at the very least in the past. And who knows -- if the Avengers manage to change the timeline enough, there is still a chance that the God of Mischief can cheat the grave yet again.
13 DON'T CARE: QUICKSILVER
There are a lot of characters we want back from the grave or the dust in Avengers 4, but Quicksilver isn't one of them. Thanks to his premature demise at the end of Age of Ultron, he hasn't been a big part of the MCU's narrative. Bringing him back at this point in the story stands a better chance of detracting from the characters we're more invested in than adding to the story.
From what Aaron Taylor-Johnson told Metro UK about reprising his role as Quicksilver, it sounds like we may get to see him back in action after Avengers 4 (just "not right now"), which would give him a better point to re-enter the story anyway.
12 WANT TO SEE: SIF
As the climax of over a decade of films, there are a few questions we want answered in Avengers 4. Among them are questions like: where has Lady Sif been since the end of Dark World? While scheduling conflicts kept Jaimie Alexander from portraying Sif in Ragnarok, Sif wasn't even mentioned in Ragnarok and completely disappeared without a trace.
She was finally confirmed "gone" from the snap, but an off-screen end hardly seems fitting for one of the last Asgardians standing. As literally, anything can happen in Avengers 4, hopefully, Sif will return and get the send-off that she deserves.
11 WANT TO SEE: AGENT COULSON
As a catalyst for forming the original Avengers team, it would be fitting for Agent Coulson to return for Avengers 4. Captain America’s #1 fan hasn’t appeared in an MCU film since the first Avengers movie, although he’s been plenty busy in the MCU on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Coulon’s demise brought the Avengers together to save the world, and it would be interesting to see if his return could inspire them to save the universe. At the very least, Coulson is coming back to the big screen for a part in Captain Marvel. Hopefully, he’ll be back to inspire the Avengers in Avengers 4 as well!
10 DON'T CARE: RED SKULL
When Red Skull first disappeared at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, we expected him to return with awesome power and a plan to vanquish Captain America. Instead, Cap's nemesis ended up as the guardian to the Soul Stone, painfully humbled to the point where he didn't even sound like himself.
Now that Thanos has the Soul Stone, it's been confirmed that the Red Skull is free to go after the Stones again. The real question, though, is if the Infinity Stones already rejected the Red Skull once, why would the outcome be different if he went after them a second time?
9 WANT TO SEE: NEBULA
At this point, Nebula’s just sort of in the background. With all the dramatic ends no one is paying too much attention to the cyborg assassin who lost her sister. However, if Avengers 4 is going to tie in some of Nebula’ role from The Infinity Gauntlet miniseries, this is exactly where she needs to be.
In the comics, Nebula kept such a low profile that everyone (including Thanos) forgot that she was there. While Thanos battled the Avengers, Nebula took control of the Infinity Gauntlet and brought back everyone that Thanos ended. We doubt it will be just like that in Avengers 4, but it would be awesome to see Nebula help save the day when no one expects it.
8 WANT TO SEE: DR. STRANGE
Stephen Strange is high on the list of characters we want back from the snap of doom. From what Strange told Iron Man, the Sorcerer Supreme’s end was all part of the one plan that can actually save the universe.
Of course, Strange didn’t give out any more details about the plan before he turned to dust, so the Avengers aren’t any better off. So far, all we have are theories about how Dr. Strange will factor into Avengers 4. As the previous keeper of the Time Stone though, it would make sense that he plays a part in the time travel.
7 DON'T CARE: FALCON
There were a lot of tearjerking demises in Infinity War, but Sam Wilson's wasn't one of them. Despite helping Captain America and the Avengers on numerous occasions so far, Falcon hasn't had much opportunity to develop as a character.
By his own assessment, he's just the guy who does whatever Captain America does, and that's not exactly crucial during the climax of a story that spans over a decade. Granted, Falcon is one of the characters speculated to take up the shield after Steve Rogers stops being Captain America, but there are others characters who could fill that role just as well.
6 WANT TO SEE: PEPPER POTS
Since Pepper's last MCU appearance sort of left her hanging, we've been waiting for her to return for Avengers 4 for a while now. However, after a leaked BTS photo of Gwenyth Paltrow hit the internet, we're more excited than ever to see her reprise her role.
Based on the image, it looks like Pepper will be donning her own suit of armor as Rescue. While Pepper has worn different Iron Man suits in past movies, it's about time she suited up as her own superhero. And with half of the universe down for the count, the Avengers will certainly need her.
5 WANT TO SEE: WINTER SOLDIER
There are plenty of reasons why we want Winter Soldier back for Avengers 4. First, Captain America will never be at peace until Bucky is back. Seriously, after all the trouble Cap went through to keep his friend safe, taking Barnes away like that was heartbreaking, and there will be unrest in the universe until this is corrected.
On top of that, there is the hope that, despite what Sebastian Stan said, the Winter Soldier will take up the role of Captain America after Steve Rogers. Whether he does or not, the Winter Soldier finally made it to a place where could try to atone for his past, and we definitely want him back for Avengers 4 to continue that.
4 DON'T CARE: ANT-MAN
When we last left Scott Lang, he was trapped in the Quantum Realm. While we expect that Ant-Man's plight to impact Avengers 4 in some critical way, there still remains the question of why. Up to this point, Ant-Man hasn't had much of an impact on the MCU. He was MIA during Infinity War, and his part in Civil War wasn't particularly integral to the story.
For the most part, Ant-Man has done his own thing in the MCU, and with so many characters to focus on during Avengers 4, Ant-Man doesn't seem like he should be a high priority.
3 WANT TO SEE: OKOYE
While the original MCU Avengers survived Thanos' snap, there are a few newer heroes that we're happy survived to fight alongside them. Okoye has had a powerful presence in the MCU since the moment she appeared in Black Panther, and she wasn't any less compelling in Infinity War.
Not only is she a great fighter and the kind of person you'd want on your side when the universe is ending, but from what we saw in Infinity War, she also works well alongside the Avengers. With the Black Panther reduced to dust, it's nice to know Wakanda still has warriors ready to defend their country and the universe.
2 WANT TO SEE: WAR MACHINE
While nearly all of the surviving Avengers belonged in the original MCU lineup, War Machine is one of the few second-tier Avengers who survived Thanos' snap. Of course, Rhodey's more than earned his spot with the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In the past few movies alone, Rhodey lost the use of his legs during Civil War and put his career on the line to help Captain America's team in Infinity War.
Rhodey's lost a lot fighting for the Avengers, so it's only natural that he'd stick with them to the end. And judging by some of the Avengers 4 set photos, it looks like War Machine might return for Avengers 4 with his proton cannon.
1 DON'T CARE: M'BAKU
While there are some great Wakandans left standing after Thanos' snap, we're not as interested in M'Baku as some of the others. Now that the Black Panther is gone, M'Baku could technically become the next King of Wakanda and the Black Panther. As the leader of the Jabari Tribe, he could challenge Shuri for the throne and beat her in combat.
However, M'Baku has already turned down the opportunity to become the Black Panther once, so it is unlikely that he will pursue it now. And with his army devastated, it's unlikely that he will want to leave what remains of his people behind to fight Thanos.