With each passing day, it seems like we’re given more and more reason to think that Avengers: Age of Ultron will be the “last ride” for the cinematic Avengers, as weknow them. For 6 years, the team has been portrayed as consisting of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America- with Black Widow and Hawkeye as their back-up dancers. Yet now, as we prepare for their next big outing together, we continue to hear murmurs that Avengers 3 will look vastly different. But what if the “last ride” aspect isn’t exactly true?

Our trusted pal Devin Faraci, over at Bad Ass Digest, reported over the weekend that his sources are pointing in the direction of a new team for the third Avengers. It makes sense, of course, considering that many of the actors are getting close to the ends of their contracts. That, and the studio likely wants doesn’t want to keep going back to the same well of characters to avoid burnout. To that end, Guardians of The Galaxy was hugely important, since it proved that the brand itself is now strong enough to launch franchises without “big name” characters. 

According to Faraci, the success of Guardians has emboldened the studio to the point where Phase Three will not only focus on building up new characters, but will also prepare Avengers 3 to be the launchpad to something altogether different. And- quite possibly- altogether epic. You see, rather than simply “writing out” the core four heroes from the third Avengers, what if they’re saving their remaining contract appearances for something major that’s going to be set up in that film? So you’d have an A3 that centers on Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Ms. Marvel, and a Guardian or two- with, likely, the help of just a Tony Stark- that sets up a scenario for an even bigger character crossover afterward.

Faraci speculates that it could be something like a cinematic Infinity Gauntlet or Secret Wars. But, again, that last part is just speculation.

What do you think?

SOURCE: Bad Ass Digest