Was Endgame The Final Avengers Movie? Why Another Is Inevitable

Avengers: Endgame seemed to bring the Avengers’ story to a fitting close, but their cinematic return in Avengers 5 nevertheless seems an inevitability. Endgame, along with the preceding Avengers: Infinity War, served as the most climactic and conclusive films of the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), collectively known as the Infinity Saga. The saga began with Iron Man, providing cinematic origin stories for multiple superheroes who would join forces as the Avengers and attempt to stop Thanos (Josh Brolin) on his quest of acquiring all the Infinity Stones and using them to erase half of the population of the universe.

Avengers: Infinity War showed Thanos to be devastatingly successful: wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, and harnessing the power of all the Infinity Stones, he snapped his fingers and half of the population faded to dust. Avengers: Endgame then saw the surviving Avengers’ retaliation, conducting a Time Heist to collect the Infinity Stones themselves, bring back the dusted half of the population, and then eradicate Thanos. The Avengers were successful in their plan, but Endgame was still not devoid of tragedy.

The film provided closure to the stories of many of the characters introduced by the Infinity Saga and seemed like a definitive conclusion to the story of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Many fans of the franchise may even be torn between wanting the Avengers to return and wanting Marvel to maintain Endgame’s flawless conclusion. Indeed the story could remain closed for some time, but the return of the Avengers seems inevitable – perhaps just not from where Endgame left them.

Kevin Feige Said Endgame Is The Final Avengers Movie (What That Means)

Thanos snaps his fingers in Avengers Endgame

Admittedly, there is reason to believe that the Avengers will not return as a collective, following comments made by Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige. Feige has referred to Endgame as “the final Avengers movie,” with his comments prompting belief that the film will be the last time the Avengers are seen jointly in the MCU. Coupled with the conclusive nature of Endgame, Feige’s remark signals that a fifth Avengers film is not planned.

However, Feige goes on to say that Avengers: Endgame marks the occasion of having “finally completed a 22-movie Infinity Saga.” His comments should perhaps be interpreted as simply that – the end of the Infinity Saga. The series of movies that was initiated by Iron Man has come to a close. Endgame may be the end of the Avengers as fans know them, but this does not remove the possibility of a reassembling, or reinvention, of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Another Avengers movie is at this stage perhaps not planned, but this does not mean it will not happen.

Endgame Was A Perfect Ending For The Original Avengers

Chris Evans as old Captain America in Avengers: Endgame

A fifth installment of the Avengers is a difficult concept as it risks undoing the well-received conclusion of Endgame. The movie gave the perfect sendoff for both Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans). Iron Man, the superhero that initiated the Infinity Saga through Tony Stark’s notably self-interested and egotistical origin story, took the opportunity to reverse his narrative arc, with him nobly giving his life to save the universe.

Captain America has an equally apt farewell while he is returning the Infinity Stones to the exact moment the Avengers took them during the Time Heist, preventing the occurrence of alternate realities. In doing this task he opts not to return through the time machine, instead deciding to spend his days as Steve Rogers. Endgame’s conclusion affords Cap the opportunity to catch up on the life he missed out on. The movie also sees Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) reacquainted with his family, and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) sacrificing herself for the acquisition of the Soul Stone, and as such Avengers: Endgame not only provided a conclusion to the action of the Infinity Saga but also to the characters underneath the costumes.

However, closure was generally restricted to the original Avengers, and the plot of the following MCU film, Spider-Man: Far from Home, was in part about Peter Parker (Tom Holland) coping with his mentor Stark’s death. Endgame may, therefore, indicate a transition of the Avengers, rather than the end of them. While it provided the perfect ending for the original Avengers, it may have also provided a new beginning for the next generation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Why Avengers 5 Is Inevitable - And Good

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark in Avengers Endgame

As Avengers 5 can happen without discrediting the conclusions made in Endgame, its production seems inevitable. The Avengers is the MCU’s biggest franchise, and it is highly unlikely that Marvel does not use that branding again. Avengers 5 is essentially guaranteed to be a $2 billion movie, and the unpredictability of a follow-up to Endgame would likely only aid its popularity at the box office.

There is also the argument that Marvel should do more with the franchise. As the story only seems to be closed for the original Avengers, it would be strange to not explore the future with the next generation. The Avengers as an outfit is specifically designed to be prone to change and growth. Avengers 5 would represent the ultimate payoff to the introduction of new heroes amidst the multiversal storylines of MCU Phase 4, most notably in Spider-Man: No Way Home and the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It would certainly be unusual, perhaps even a mistake, for Avengers movies to cease production just as the MCU has reached a new creative peak.

When Will Avengers 5 Happen? Why The Break Is Needed

Captain America gives Falcon his shield.

The Avengers was released four years after Iron Man, and so a similar time frame is to be expected for a potential Avengers 5 to have its context fully established. Avengers 5 may even take longer than that as it may still be required to handle the fallout of Endgame’s conclusions. The MCU has multiple projects already in place for release between now and late 2023, and while that would be four years since the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the magnitude of Avengers 5 may even take even longer to orchestrate.

Time is not only required for the project to properly distance itself from Endgame but also for the MCU to set it up properly. Considering the current complexity of MCU plots, the situation of many of its characters may not yet be determined for Avengers 5. The prospective movie also bears inherent risk: despite the continuation of the Avengers franchise never being explicitly ruled out by MCU plots, Avengers 5 would nonetheless have to justify the revival of a franchise that seemed to conclude so definitively, and so popularly, with Avengers: Endgame.

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