There Should Be A Time Jump Between Avengers 3 and 4

Avengers: Infinity War stunned fans with a shocking conclusion, and there's no way Avengers 4 should pick up where it left off; instead, Marvel would be wise to have a time jump. The reality is the cliffhanger ending of Infinity War was just too massive, too world-shaking, to pick up in the moment. Audiences will have had a year to reflect on what's happened to the MCU, with Ant-Man & the Wasp and Captain Marvel presumably offering tantalizing hints. Meanwhile, as emotional as audiences may be about certain key character deaths right now, in a year's time the keen edge of that grief will have faded. While the heroes' reaction to the tragedy would still be raw, the viewers have had a year and are more concerned with what comes next.

And so a time jump is necessary. It may be that the time jump is actually only a year; of all Marvel's directors, the Russos have a keen understanding of the timeline. To date, every one of their MCU movies has been explicitly set in the year of its release. Infinity War even carefully fixed the timeline errors created by Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Alternatively, if Marvel really wanted to be creative, they could choose to break with tradition and jump even further forward in time. Thanos bragged that worlds would become paradises in the wake of his scourge, and the MCU could skip forward years - maybe even a decade - to test his theory. Will the Mad Titan's horrific slaughter create a utopia, or instead generate only chaos? It would certainly be fascinating to see the answer to that question, with either outcome posing its own unique crisis for our heroes. Still, whether Marvel skips forwards only a year or instead goes further, a time jump will still be best.

This Page: A Time Jump Would Reveal The Real Impact Of Thanos

A Time Jump Would Reveal The Real Impact Of Thanos

Thanos wearing the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers Infinity War

The Russo brothers may have raised the stakes to their highest level in Marvel history, but they actually kept the focus pretty tight. Although Thanos erased half the universe with but a snap of his fingers, viewers only saw characters they know and love disappear. That's a markedly different approach to the Infinity Gauntlet comic this plot is lifted from, which stressed both the global and cosmic scale of the atrocity. It saw streets full of ordinary citizens emptied; it saw alien civilizations razed. Infinity War settled for hinting at this in a brief post-credits scene, and that was really focused on teasing the impending arrival of Captain Marvel.

If the Russos carried straight on with the story where they left off, no doubt the tight character focus would remain. As a result, the disaster would still feel reduced in scale, as though only a small handful of people had vanished, rather than half the universe. By jumping forwards in time, though, the Russos can set these familiar heroes against a backdrop in which the world has been utterly changed. The nature of those changes - crises in government, political and ethnic tensions, crime sprees, whatever - would emphasize the true scale of Thanos' act.

In his conversation with Gamora, Thanos stressed that her homeworld became a paradise after his attack. He cited that as a justification for his entire twisted philosophy, believing that the entire universe would be improved by this act of "sacrifice." By skipping forward a few years, though, Avengers 4 could reveal the chaos that Thanos unleashed. It could set up a crumbling society, one that desperately needs to be saved. Thus the Avengers wouldn't just be fighting to undo what Thanos has done; they'd be fighting to save everything. Or, possibly even scarier, what if life on Earth truly is improved? Should they still try to undo Thanos' snap then?

A Time Jump Allows the Characters to Change

Crucially, though, a time jump will allow the central characters to be transformed by Thanos's finger-snap. Take, for example, Hawkeye. Although Clint Barton didn't appear in Infinity War, set photos have confirmed that he'll be active in Avengers 4 - and operating under the "Ronin" identity. In Marvel's Ultimate Comics universe, Hawkeye took up that identity after the deaths of his family. It seems likely the MCU will take a similar approach; that Hawkeye has become Ronin because he watched his wife and children crumble into ash before his eyes. A time jump would allow viewers to see just what that loss has done to Clint Barton, one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Every Avenger will have a chance to shine against the backdrop of this nightmarish status quo. Can Steve Rogers cling to the hopeful and optimistic attitude that has made him a beacon of liberty? Or will he instead be crushed by the scale of the defeat, and by the loss of two of his dearest friends, Sam and Bucky? Assuming Tony Stark returns to Earth with Nebula's help, what will the "futurist" do to try to help the world to heal? These questions are best explored by jumping forward in time, so we see the outcome of this rather than the gradual transition - simply because Avengers 4 already has so much to accomplish as a film.

Like comics, Marvel movies essentially involve the "Illusion of Change." Characters tend to stay relatively static, with only subtle variations on a theme. That's not a criticism; why meddle with success? But the events of Infinity War are a tragedy on a scale none of the Avengers have ever experienced. There is simply no way to invoke the "Illusion of Change" after half the life in the universe has been wiped out - including dear friends and allies. Essentially, a time jump would allow the Russo brothers to reinvent the characters, to explore how tragedy has strengthened or broken our heroes. It would ensure Thanos's act has the maximum emotional impact.

Strange's Plan May Need Time (In More Ways Than One)

Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark at the end of Avengers Infinity War

It seems pretty clear that Doctor Strange has a plan. He used the Time Stone to explore millions of different futures, seeking out the one timeline where the heroes eventually won. Crucially, Strange insisted that he saw what he called "the ultimate outcome" - suggesting that he looked beyond the Battle of Wakanda, and on to the events that would follow. In a shocking twist, Strange then handed over the Time Stone in order to keep Tony Stark alive.

Strange knew he had to surrender the Time Stone in order to ensure events unfolded as he had foreseen - down the one timeline where Thanos would ultimately be beaten. "There was no other way," the one-day Sorcerer Supreme assured Iron Man as he crumbled from existence. Strange was gambling everything on Tony Stark's success, on Iron Man's somehow playing a key role in undoing Thanos's act.

But that will probably take time. In the short term, it's essential the chaos on Earth be brought under an element of control, and as many lives as possible be saved. Only then can the remaining heroes assemble, one last time, in order to save the universe itself. The Avengers' plan may be as simple as scouring the cosmos for the Infinity Stones themselves, now that Thanos has seemingly lost them; or it may be more involved, using (which we know is a main component of Avengers 4) to rewrite history and prevent Thanos's triumph in the first place. Whatever the case may be, though, it will probably involve time for all the pieces to fall into place. A time jump allows the plot to move forward.

Although a time jump is necessary, it will still need to be handled with care. There are certain key scenes that viewers are keen to see on the big screen, most notably the reunion between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. That suggests Marvel would be wiser to jump ahead only a small period in time, perhaps only a year. After all, even if Tony Stark heads straight back to Earth, the reality is that the surviving Avengers will essentially be occupied fighting fires for quite some time - traveling the globe, each dealing with the next crisis as it rears its ugly head. It would certainly be in character for Stark to only get the band back together when he finally hits upon a plan - and the action can kick into gear.