

Thanos did what he said, and the Avengers failed to stop him. Now, a gruelling question lies in front of them – How to stop the mighty titan? Will they be able to do it themselves? Even with Captain Marvel joining the team, what are the chances of Thanos being defeated? Will the Earth’s mightiest heroes need more help? What if another iconic Marvel superhero team joins them to battle Thanos? Is MCU all set to finally bring X-Men in the picture?
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame inspired poster from artist SG Posters
“Even if there’s a small chance, we owe this to everyone not in this room.”
When Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow (played by Scarlet Johansson) said that in the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ trailer, I bet there was not a single MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) fan across the globe who didn’t get the goosebumps.
The MCU movies have come a long way since Iron Man (portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.) first appeared on the big screen back in 2008. That day on, it has been a roller coaster ride of intricate storylines, complex yet mind-blowing subplots, impressive cast addition and their subsequent acting and spectacular direction by some of the most renowned filmmakers in the Hollywood.
There is one thing though that made MCU what it is today. Any guesses? Yes? No? Well, pretty sure most of you must have guessed it right.
It is the unbelievable manner in which every single MCU movie, all 21 of them, have been tied in sync, in a harmony! A feat considered unattainable by many, MCU did an incredible job in bringing together such a star cast under one roof and make a kickass movie with them. Despite the low spirits and unsure opinions on the first Iron Man movie, it proved to be a way bigger success than the filmmakers ever expected. Hence began the saga of the longest running movie franchise in the history of cinema.
The original Avengers members (from left to right) Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man and Hulk as they appeared in The Avengers (2012). Since then, the team has expanded to include several more members in the consecutive films. (Pic: Newsrama)
That being said, let’s come back to Endgame. The trailer has revealed quite a lot of things. In fact, to the disappointment of certain fans, it has actually revealed more than it should be, or so it seems.
One of the facts from the new trailer that struck the fans most is Tony Stark is back on Earth and reconciled with the rest of the Avengers. Just when everyone thought that he being lost in space is going to be one of the major plotlines, the new trailer put an end to that.
A lot more was also revealed in the trailer. However, if you are a true Marvel fan, you should know better. MCU has a knack of willingly inserting video footages in the trailers that have little or no connection at all with the actual movie. Remember Hulk fighting alongside the Avengers in Wakanda in the trailer of Infinity War? Yes, I expected him to pop out on the screen anytime too. Never happened.
And it’s not even just an assumption. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo admitted (1) in a recent interview that manipulative footage has been inserted in the trailers to stop fans from guessing the movie’s plot.
So what’s it they are hiding from us? The fans across the globe have come out with hundreds of speculations, but knowing MCU and the Russo brothers, the movie is going to be something entirely different. What can it be though?
Here is something that might be cooking up in the dark corners of the studio, leaving us completely unaware:
Since you are a MCU fan, there is a fair chance that you might have come across the news of Disney buying once mighty Hollywood studio Fox (2). Why this news matter? For a lot of reasons! Disney is MCU’s parent company and owns all its characters. What some of you might not know is, Fox owns several of the Marvel characters too!
How? Why? A long time ago, somewhere in the 90s, Marvel was on the verge of bankruptcy (sounds preposterous, but is true nevertheless) and to get out of the immeasurable burden of debts, the comic book publication sold the movie rights of some of its characters to several big-time studios, Fox being one of it. That is how some of the most celebrated Marvel franchises like X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool etc. fell into Fox’s bag.
As fate had it, with the purchase of Fox, Disney got a hold of all those characters, which means the separated Marvel characters are back home!
Coming back to the point, what Endgame has got up its sleeve? If you are an MCU fan as well as a prolific comic book devotee, you know X-Men played quite an important role in the battle against Thanos in the original comic book The Infinity Gauntlet. This comic book serves as an inspiration for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame movies.
Wolverine, one of the prominent members of X-Men, fighting Thanos in The Infinity Gauntlet comic book. Will we get to see it in the live action movie? (Pic: Cinemablend)
Of course, back then Avengers were joined by the other superhero teams of the Marvel universe including Fantastic Four, and the battle was on a much larger scale than the movie version. However, it would be a nearly impossible task to achieve. Firstly, because of the budget concerns, secondly, so many characters just can’t be cramped up in a 3-hour-long movie (that is already the longest MCU movie ever).
Here is a Avengers/X-Men crossover speculation by Emergency Awesome:
Even though it would be too far-fetched to say anything definitely for now, the probability of X-Men being introduced in Endgame doesn’t actually seem to be that impossible. However, since the Fox merger has happened quite recently, the filmmakers might want to think over it and bring the revamped version of our favorite mutants on screen sometime later.
You might say here that all the movies are adapted from previous comic books, of course (thanks Captain Obvious!). But consider this; isn’t there a pattern that has become quite an iconic style of MCU to introduce new characters?
Remember when no one really expected it, Scarlet Witch aka Wanda Maximoff (played by Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver aka Pietro Maximoff (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) were introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)? Since then, Scarlet Witch has become one of the canon members of Avengers in all the subsequent movies including Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Sadly, Quicksilver met a tragic yet ironic death when he tried saving Hawkeye from, well, bullets. So much for the fastest superhero ever in the Marvel universe (no sarcasm intended).
Okay, that was one time. But was it? Let’s rewind a bit again. Even though the introduction of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was already talk of the town when the Captain America: Civil War trailer hit the internet, it came as a pleasant surprise to all the MCU fans. Afterall, ever since Sony decided to put a lid on The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, speculations were high whether our beloved Friendly Neighborhood would join the Avengers in MCU or not. Though fans went crazy with joy, his introduction was absolutely unexpected, wasn’t it?
Spider-Man making first appearance in Civil War, snatching Captain America’s shield was one of the most awesome intros ever (Pic: Geeks)
And then when no one, absolutely no one thought of it, we got Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Undoubtedly, his introduction was made more awesome by his capability to wield Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, moments after he was born. MCU knows how to astonish the audience.
Vision’s birth in Avengers: Age of Ultron
Now think of it, Russo brothers have already made it very clear that no one has predicted the movie’s plot (3) and all fan theories out there are just rumors. What it could mean? A dozen of things of course. But since every Avengers movie has introduced or brought an already introduced character to a bigger role, odds are high that the X-Men will become the part of the coveted team.
Nevertheless, MCU is known for throwing away surprises when you least expect it, and it would be actually great if we get to witness Professor Xavier’s students joining Captain America, Thor, Hulk and others in the ultimate battle. All of it and one of the most anticipated members from recent times, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (portrayed by one and only Brie Larson). This is surely going to be one heck of a roller coaster ride!
Picture this: Thor wielding his new weapon Stormbreaker while Cap is providing cover with his shield, and all of a sudden, we hear a sound, “SKITTT!’ and get a glimpse of a muscular arm with adamantium cladded claws! Did you get the goosebumps too?
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