A new report suggests that Marvel might have something up its sleeve for Avengers 3… and that’s likely to be a very different team of Avengers than the ones we’ve come to know and love.
According to Devin Faraci of Badass Digest, the third Avengers movie – recently rumoured to be split into two parts – will shift the focus away from the current Avengers line-up… and will instead feature a new super group consisting of some brand new faces.
“Marvel isn’t splitting Avengers 3 into two movies,” he said, clearly blasting that earlier rumour. “But they are planning Avengers 3 as the springboard to… something else. And they’re going to use their biggest characters in that something else, keeping them out of Avengers 3.”
The basic premise behind this rumour is that Marvel Studio is rather keen to hang onto Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and co. for something even bigger than an Avengers sequel… and that by removing them from the Avengers line-up, Marvel is able to stall these actors’ contracts, effectively keeping them in reserve for something even bigger.
“Robert Downey Jr’s renegotiated contract seems to specify Avengers 3 as his next film,” said Faraci… and that presumably means that Avengers 3 will be Downey’s swansong as the invincible Iron Man.
But it’s believed that Thor, Captain America and even Black Widow may skip this movie altogether, cleaving the door open for this unspecified (but presumably huge) movie that is now on everybody’s lips.
And as for Mark Ruffalo?
“Hulk’s planet of residence could well be up in the air by 2018 or so,” he says…. clearly hinting at a Planet Hulk movie somewhere down the line. Even if it has been furiously denied by Marvel insiders over the years.
But who will take over from the current Avengers?
Avengers: Age of Ultron already introduces two new super-powered beings into the mix – Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. And with both Ant-Man and Doctor Strange slated for an upcoming release, it seems there are plenty of heroes to step up in their place.
There’s even a suggestion that Avengers 3 could include heroes from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as the upcoming Defenders TV shows… and that would certainly tie in all aspects of the rapidly expanding MCU.
Will this actually happen? So far, there’s been no official word from Marvel… and that’s not likely to happen for some time. So for now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Do you think Thor and Captain America will sit this one out? Could we see Ant-Man and Doctor Strange take a place in the Avengers? Let us know what you think in the comments below…