The Infinity War just got a lot less infinite.
Marvel Studios originally announced their two-part Avengers crossover film back in 2014. The movies were to be called Avengers: Infinity War Part I and Avengers: Infinity War Part II, and they were scheduled for release on May 4, 2018 and May 3, 2019 respectively. The crossover event promised to deliver a massive two-part blockbuster in which the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) finally squared off against their interstellar menace, Thanos, who is trying to acquire all of the Infinity Stones that, when brought together in the Infinity Gauntlet, can bestow their wielder with omnipotent power. (Or at least that’s how it works in the comics.)
We’ve known for a while now that the titles of Avengers: Infinity War Part I and Avengers: Infinity War Part II were probably going to change, but today’s news from Marvel Studios might be a little anticlimactic. They have just revealed that the first film will now be called just Avengers: Infinity War, and the second film is now just Untitled Avengers… for now.
Marvel Studios
Also: The ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Screenwriters Do The B-Movies Podcast!
So why even make this announcement in the first place, if the second film doesn’t even have a title yet? It may be because Marvel Studios is changing their plans altogether. It’s very possible that their two-part blockbuster idea has been jettisoned in favor of a better or at least a more manageable concept. Or perhaps, if your in the mood to speculate wildly, the title of the Untitled Avengers movie could be considered a spoiler if they revealed it too soon.
But what we expect is also likely is that production on Avengers: Infinity War is starting in November, and Marvel wants to be able to focus all of our attention on just one film at a time. They’re keeping all the emphasis on Infinity War so that the follow-up, which may or may not follow the events of Infinity War directly, doesn’t seem like the elephant in the room.
Feel free to theorize all you want, and check out our exclusive podcast interview with Avengers: Infinity War writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely about how they plan to handle Thanos as a character in the upcoming film!
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
Eight Superhero Fights You Will Never See in a Movie:
Top Photo: Marvel Studios
Eight Iconic Superhero Fights You Will Never See in a Movie
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Avengers vs. X-Men
Marvel's biggest superhero teams came to blows in the epic, multi-series crossover Avengers vs. X-Men (a.k.a. AvX) in 2012, but the two franchises are owned by different studios - Avengers at Disney, X-Men at Fox - and it's unlike they will ever want to share the profits on what could be the biggest movie ever produced.
Photo: Marvel
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Batman vs. Guy Gardner
Warner Bros. owns the rights to both Batman and Guy Gardner, Earth's jerkiest Green Lantern, but the odds that they'll actually put Gardner in a movie - especially when Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Kyle Rayner are more popular - are pretty slim. So the iconic fight in which Batman took Guy out in a single punch will, sadly, probably never make it in front of the cameras.
Photo: DC
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Daredevil vs. Sub-Mariner
In one of the great early Marvel superhero fights, Sub-Mariner emerged from Atlantis to destroy humanity, and only Daredevil was around to stop him. Outmatched in every way, Daredevil fought until he collapsed. Sub-Mariner respected his fearlessness so much he figured humanity was worth sparing. Both characters are owned by Marvel, but the studio is still trying to get the rights to Sub-Mariner sorted out after the character was originally optioned by Universal.
Photo: Marvel
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The Hulk vs. The Thing
The strongest, most misunderstood monsters in the Marvel Universe have a long and storied history of beating the crap out of each other. Who is strongest? Who is toughest? We may never know in live-action, since Fox owns the rights to Fantastic Four and Marvel's got The Hulk under their own banner.
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Marvel vs. DC
It took decades for Marvel and DC to set aside their differences long enough for a comic book crossover between their competing superhero universes, and it will probably be at least that long before Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. seriously consider letting Batman fight Captain America, Superman fight Thor, and so on and so forth.
Photo: Marvel and DC
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Superboy vs. Superboy Prime
The teenaged clone of Superman and Lex Luthor repeatedly fought an alternate reality Superboy who was a dangerously insane mass murderer. Yeah, even though Warner Bros. obviously owns both Superboy and Superboy Prime, the odds that we'll ever see their weird, epic, head-exploding battle on the big screen are extremely low.
Photo: DC
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Superman vs. Muhammad Ali
Aliens have challenged Earth's mightiest champion, but when Superman steps forward, the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali points out that he's not really from Earth. So they fight to prove who is truly the greatest, and sure enough, Muhammad Ali kicks Superman's ass (in all fairness, the hero's powers were deactivated, and he put up a good fight). But it seems highly unlikely that Warner Bros. will decide to send Superman back in time to fight Ali in his prime, doesn't it?
Photo: DC
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Wolverine vs. Anyone Cool
In the Marvel Comics, fighting Wolverine is like a rite of passage. He's had iconic tussles with The Hulk, Captain America and Spider-Man, and was thrown head-to-head against any rookie hero that the publisher wanted to prove was a badass. But Wolverine is owned by Fox, who only have the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. We will probably never see Wolverine fight an Avenger in a live-action movie, and that sucks.
Photo: Marvel
