In May 2018, Avengers: Infinity War will take the world by storm.

An unprecedented movie even by Marvel studios standards, Infinity War will unite most of the superheroes the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced on the silver screen since the first Iron Man film was released in 2008. A decade's worth of characters will come together for a single story, a massive production rumored to be the most expensive movie ever made. But Marvel, knowing the scale and popularity of such an undertaking, wouldn't stop there. The story of this adventure is so monumental, so vast, that two movies would be needed to tell it properly. Avengers 4 is already coming, and it will be with us sooner rather than later, with a release date set only a year away from its predecessor: May 3rd 2019.

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Although the movie was first billed as Infinity War Part 2, that particular subtitle has since been dropped and it is now only referred to as Avengers 4. The fact that the official title hasn't been released yet makes us think that the subtitle will be revealing, or at least indicate its comic book inspiration -- which in turn could lead us to guessing approximately where Infinity War will leave things when the credits start to roll.

When it comes to the Avengers movies, Marvel has always been playing things pretty close to the vest -- we don't know much about Infinity War save for which characters are in it, and the vaguely-defined dangers they'll be facing. The threat is so big, so devastating, that the fate of some characters is definitely up in the air. It's an air of mystery that Marvel definitely wants to keep, which is probably why we know even less about Avengers 4.

However, if you look close enough, there are some things you can find out -- like say which characters will appear in the fourth team-up film. There are rumored cast lists circulating on the Internet right now, but they are just that -- rumors. Here, we will split the difference, and list which characters are actually in Avengers 4. So far.

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The Guardians of the Galaxy and Thanos

Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-2

We can't say for certain whether digitally-created characters will be a part of the film, but considering that we do know that fellow Guardians Nebula, Gamora and Drax are all set to return, we can probably safely assume Rocket Raccoon and Groot will also be involved. Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan have both been seen in set videos of Avengers 4 in their respective make-up and costumes, and Drax actor Dave Batista has gone on record to say that he is hitting the gym harder than ever before for his short stint on the upcoming movie, a goal he's aiming to achieve if only to match the dwarfing presence of Thanos actor Josh Brolin. This statement, along with Brolin's previous interviews, also confirm that Thanos will very much be involved in the film. The Guardians' fearless leader Star-Lord, an iconic presence in the MCU thanks to Chris Pratt's iconic performance, is also expected to return to Atlanta for filming.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Paul Rudd's Scott Lang has been confirmed to be in Infinity War for some time, with set photos teasing his involvement in the film -- but, alas, nothing was announced about his partner in superhero crime, Evangeline Lily's Hope Van Dyne, aka the Wasp. However, all of that is about the change come Avengers 4. In fact, the duo's very own team-up movie, Ant-Man And The Wasp, is set for release on July 6th, 2018, a mere two months after the release of the third Avengers movie. The Ant-Man sequel is set to fully establish Hope as the Wasp, which will cement her place among the MCU roster of superheroes. Both actors have been seen in a set video of Avengers 4, giving us an early look at their amazing new costumes.

Hawkeye and Black Widow

Hawkeye and Black Widow

Hawkeye has always been a bit of a mysterious character. He kept his family secret from all of his friends, he retired from the Avengers life for five minutes until the Civil War brought him back to the fold and he's now currently on the run from the government. And after his appearance in Infinity War, we already know that Renner is returning for its sequel, with a brand new, and quite mysterious, haircut to go along with it.

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Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow is in a similar situation to her old S.H.I.E.L.D. partner. Last we saw her, she was also on the run from the government, after "defecting" from Tony Stark's side of the Civil War argument. We've already seen her new blonde hair for Infinity War, and now we know that the character will be in Avengers 4, as the actress has been spotted filming the movie in Tokyo. It just so happens that there are reports claiming that Jeremy Renner is also involved in the Japan-based scenes.

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Spider-Man

Spider-Man Homecoming

Tom Holland's Peter Parker was introduced in Captain America: Civil War before starring in his very own movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming. We know Peter has a role to play in Infinity War, one that will see him suit up in a new version of his Spider-Man costume. And while the actor hasn't been spotted on the set of Avengers 4 yet, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige did discuss how the events of both Avengers 3 and 4 will impact Peter Parker's life, essentially confirming the wall-crawler's presence. Feige also said that the Homecoming sequel, a movie already announced by Sony and Marvel, will begin mere minutes after the events of Avengers 4.

Vision

JARVIS Vision Paul Beattany

Introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Vision was positioned as one of the most powerful members of the Avengers, a crucial addition when the team is set to fight against powerful enemies from the other side of the universe. But with an Infinity Stone in his forehead, many took that to think that the Vision would inevitably fall at the hand of Thanos, as the villain proceeds to collect the stones to assemble his fabled Gauntlet. But in recent interviews, Paul Bettany has let slip that he still has another Avengers movie to make, and the actor is now expected to head to Atlanta for filming this September.

Hulk

avengers-hulk-ruffalo

While Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner and his alter ego, the Hulk, have not been seen on set yet, the actor has gone on record to say that his character's storyline isn't complete by the end of Infinity War and that it will in fact continue to unfold in Avengers 4. Considering that it is unlikely we will ever see a solo Hulk movie again, this comes as a bit of good news. Just what exactly is in store for that storyline however remains a mystery, but it's a safe bet that it will start very soon, with the Hulk's important role in next November's Thor: Ragnarok.

Captain America

aptain america shield chris evans marvel header

Although Chris Evans originally had six movies to his Marvel contract, three Captain America movies and three Avengers movies, the actor agreed to extend it in order to appear in Avengers 4. Considering the impressive amount of characters that had to appear in the two movies, Evans' agreement to sign on for another Captain America appearance involved the promise that the movie would "wrap everything up." While this certainly makes us uncertain of Steve Rogers' long term future, solace can be found in the knowledge that his story will be last at least until Avengers 4.

Iron Man

RDJ as Tony Stark

Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark is the character that began it all, so it only makes sense that Iron Man would return for the MCU's ultimate cumulative movie. While some people are already discussing the possibility of Avengers 4 being Downey, Jr.'s last go in the Marvel franchise, we can at least take comfort in the fact that he will absolutely be in the movie. And not only that, it also seems that Stark won't be coming alone, as Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts and Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan have also been confirmed for the movie thanks to an Instagram post by Downey, Jr. himself.

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As far as confirmed actors for the movie, this is as far as we can go for now. We don't yet know if War Machine, Black Panther, the Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, the Winter Solider, Mantis, Falcon, Captain Marvel, Loki and Thor will appear in Avengers 4 yet. But just because we haven't had confirmation so far, that doesn't mean that Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sebastian Stan, Pom Klementieff, Anthony Mackie, Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth will not be a part of the movie. It just means that there is much we don't yet know.

However, when it comes to characters we officially know won't be in the movie, the list is incredibly short, with only one name: Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury.