WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, in theaters now.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe will never look the same again. Avengers: Endgame marks the end of an era that began in 2008 with Iron Man, and expanded into the collective cinematic behemoth that millions of movie-goers know and love today. With the latest and most epic entry, the MCU leaves behind the old status quo, and a new world starts to take shape. So after Phase Three ends in July with Spider-Man: Far From Home, what will the future hold?
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We have some idea of what to expect. The unconfirmed slate includes Black Widow, The Eternals and Shang-Chi as well as sequels to Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Captain Marvel. It's also worth noting that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has indicated there will be a greater push for diversity in the MCU. So we can definitely expect Phase Four to introduce new superheroes. That doesn't mean we should say farewell to more familiar ones -- well, not all of them.
Even before walking into the cinema, fans could rest assured that newer MCU characters would make it out alive. Superheroes like Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Black Panther were guaranteed to survive, given that they each have films slated for release in the near future. Still, the MCU was about to change forever.
Iron Man and Captain America have acted as the faces of the MCU until this point. The Avengers turned to one or both heroes for leadership, but Endgame ensures the team has new leaders moving forward, as Tony Stark and Steve Rogers come to the ends of their journeys. Thankfully, there are several superheroes who can at least attempt to fill their roles.
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Thor might have been a suitable candidate, but he joins the Guardians of the Galaxy and seems content to take orders from Peter Quill. After relinquishing the title of king of Asgard, it makes sense that the god of thunder would avoid leading anyone, at least for a while.
Feige has made it clear that Captain Marvel will lead in the future. She has the experience required, even if she still has something to learn about fighting as part of a team. The only real issue is that Carol Danvers protects more than one planet, which means she might not be able to fill the role of leadership as fully as Captain America or Iron Man, who were devoted to Earth, largely because it was all they knew.
She wouldn't have to lead alone. Just as Captain America and Iron Man led the Avengers together, Captain Marvel could easily share the role with someone else. Someone like Doctor Strange, who is accustomed to guarding Earth, or the Hulk, who has now mastered his alter ego and possesses great intelligence as well as unmatched physical strength.
So the future of the Avengers seems to be taking shape, but what about the world (or worlds) around them?
The 22 films that comprise the current universe seem to have explored Earth as thoroughly as they could without the aid of wilder concepts. Throughout the years, audiences have been introduced to alien races and distant planets that clearly had their own stories to tell. Just as an example, fans might remember the Sovereign and the creation of Adam that was never built upon. The fate of the Skrulls is also yet to be revealed. There's also the Quantum Realm, which played a pivotal role in Endgame.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and the Wasp introduced people, places and events beyond Earth; there's an entire universe for future films to explore. Avengers: Endgame has provided the MCU with a narrative flexibility that almost matches that of the comic books, thanks to the introduction of the time machine built by Rocket Raccoon, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Just as we saw with Stark and Thor, characters can be explored in different ways using time travel, they can be brought back or duplicated; the possibilities are endless.
Avengers: Endgame brings a grand story to a fittingly epic close, but the film has also proved the MCU is still very much in its prime. The ever-expanding world it has created has only just started to open up, and has plenty of more stories to offer.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos.