Avengers Disassembled: Marvel Confirms Inevitable End of Superhero Team as We Know It

By the time Disney rolls out the fifth Avengers movie, likely in 2021 or 2022, we could see a roster that includes superheroes who have yet to debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Imagine a team of Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Nova, and Captain Marvel all under the leadership of Sam Wilson’s new-look Captain America. Thor could be a woman. And Squirrel Girl has a real shot to make the squad.

Not exactly your idea of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Believe me, it’s not that far-fetched. This week, while promoting the arrival of Avengers: Age of Ultron on Blu-ray/DVD, the Marvel brain trust confirmed what we’ve long suspected: The epic Avengers: Infinity War, airing in two parts in 2018 and 2019 and combining characters from the entire MCU, will be the last hurrah for the lineup of Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, et al., and close out “Phase Three” of the Marvel films.

“I think it definitely is an end to some version of the team that we’ve come to know as the Avengers,” explained executive producer Jeremy Latcham. “Who knows exactly what’s going to happen yet in that film, but I think this version of that team — and I think we start to hint at that at the end of Age of Ultron — the team will be evolving. One of the things that we love from the comics is the roster’s always changing, that new people are coming onto the team and that you can pick up an Avengers book 10 years later and you don’t recognize the people on the cover, but the ideas and the ideals that make the Avengers the Avengers still exist.”

To recap, Age of Ultron finds the Avengers disassembled. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are off on solo projects, leaving Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) overseeing a B-team of Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).

As Latcham notes, the shakeup is a nod to the Avengers comic roots. The team’s membership has been fluid since the 1960s, with myriad heroes coming and going. Hulk only lasted two issues before he quit. And while Iron Man, Thor, and Cap have been mainstays, Marvel Comics has reconceived the latter two in recent years, perhaps with an eye to the MCU and increasingly costly contracts. Steve Rogers has hung up his shield; the mantle of Captain America is now borne by Sam Wilson, who was formerly the Falcon. Mackie could easily segue into that role in a few years.