Countdown To Infinity War: That Which Is To Come

In less than 24 hours, one of the biggest films of the past decade, and likely one of the most financially successful films of all time, will land in cinemas. Over the past ten years the world has watched as various heroes, from men with metal suits to men with metal shields and men with mental magic, have come together to save the world from all manner of threats, both domestic and extraterrestrial. All good things must come to an end, and with Avengers: Infinity War, that end has come. But what does the future hold?

We know a few things for certain. Following Infinity War, we will see a second Ant-Man film, Ant-Man And The Wasp, for which an extremely entertaining trailer was released earlier this year. Then there's 2019's Captain Marvel, a 90's styled action film set before the vast majority of prior films, a currently untitled Infinity War sequel, and a Spiderman sequel, purported to be a globetrotting adventure. There's also a trilogy making Guardians Of The Galaxy film set for 2020, but details are thin on that. For now however, most things are just speculation.

But then what? For the past few years, film critics have not ceased predicting the end of the popularity of the superhero genre. Marvel directors and execs are promising changes to the way stories are told in the MCU. And fans are holding out for the potential inclusion of the Fantastic Four following Disney's acquisition of Fox's entertainment branch. Finally, Sony and DC / Warner Bros are showing no signs of ceasing production of superhero films, with two Sony Spider-Man related films coming this year and many, many DCEU films in various stages of development.

What is it that we would like to see? Perhaps we'll see yet another attempt at a Fantastic Four film. Maybe the integration of the X-Men into the wider, existing universe. With the high chance of certain characters vanishing from the franchise, the most likely of these being Captain America and Iron Man, we may see existing or new characters stepping up to fill these roles. A Silver Surfer may herald the imminent arrival of the planet consuming Galactus, the street level heroes of the Netflix universe may step up into a broader universe filled with more than just gangsters and poorly written ninjas.

I, for one, hope to see an end, preferably sooner rather than later, to the current universe, an event that brings things to a close, and opens the way for a new beginning. With a new universe, a new franchise, more characters could be explored in different way. Standalone films for smaller characters like Black Widow or Hawkeye could be made, rather than films existing solely to establish elements of future ensemble pieces. Or disconnected stories could be told, adapting What If comics or comic book storylines that don't fit into the larger cinematic universe.

As I write this, the day of Avengers: Infinity War's release, the MCU is a pendulum at the height of a swing. It has so much force behind it, and so much potential energy, but its next swing needs to be one that recaptures people's imaginations. People are going to get bored, so it's time that Marvel tried something new.

#Marvel #MCU #CountdownToInfinityWar