With Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe well underway, both on TV with the likes of Loki and WandaVision and on the big screen with Black Widow and the upcoming Shang-Chi, one of the big questions remains what exactly the next Avengers line-up will look like, something Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed is still being figured out. The cinematic tour-de-force that was Avengers: Endgame saw a number of stars exit the franchise including Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers/Captain America. Likewise, despite dying during Endgame, Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow finally bowed out after her solo-prequel.

The last time audiences saw the Avengers as a unit was at Tony Stark's funeral, with the remaining members seemingly going their separate ways. Thor went to space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man had his less than relaxing summer getaway in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Wanda Maximoff went to tackle her grief over losing Vision. However, as is often the case, the Avengers just require the right threat to bring the heroes back together again, and with Kang the Conqueror seemingly on the horizon after the events of Loki's finale, that could be sooner rather than later.

Related: Phase 4 Has Three MCU Teams More Powerful Than The Avengers

As it turns out though, who exactly will answer the call is something that remains very much up in the air. Speaking to CinemaBlend ahead of Shang-Chi's release, Feige was asked whether the Avengers even exist anymore. Feige responded by saying that fans "will see that question addressed, and people struggling with that very question, within the MCU right now." He added that it will be "an undercurrent that will, while not at the forefront of many of the current movies, is certainly …lingering in the background." You can read Feige's full statement below:

"That is a great question. And I think you will see that question addressed, and people struggling with that very question, within the MCU right now. I think post-Endgame and with Tony being off the board and Steve Rogers being off the board -- Sam Wilson is a new Cap, of course. But what does it mean to be an Avenger? And is there a core team? And who's leading it, and who's financing it? That is very much an undercurrent that will, while not at the forefront of many of the current movies, is certainly a question that is lingering in the background."

Drax and Mantis on Titan in Avengers Infinity War (2018)

While Feige seems to have very much avoided the question of whether Marvel have decided on their new Avengers team, he makes an interesting point that there is no really left to lead or fund the Avengers. The question of what it means to be Avenger has already been a recurrent theme in many of the films since Endgame. Spider-Man had his own crisis of faith in Far From Home and WandaVision very much centered itself around Wanda's sorrow. It makes sense then for the rest of Phase Four to continue focusing on how the world has changed and introducing its plethora of new heroes such as Shang-Chi. Seeing these heroes step up to become an Avenger is a big moment, so shouldn't be treated lightly in the context of the films.

Another matter is Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine who, from her appearances in Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Solider, appears to be setting up her own Dark Avengers team having already recruited Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent and Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova. Even if the Avengers themselves don't currently exist in the MCU, there may at least be one team ready to answer the call, for better or worse. Whether this will lead to conflict with a new Avengers line-up remains to be seen though.

However, that is not necessarily an immediate issue as there are a number of upcoming films and TV series in the MCU set to release before 2023, so fans likely shouldn't expect another Avengers film until at least after then. Still, it will be interesting to see what transpires and who Marvel positions as the next generation of Avengers in the coming years.

More: How Kang Is Different To Thanos (& What It Means For Avengers 5)

Source: CinemaBlend

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