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Avengers 4 is heading to Japan, set photos suggest

Eric Frederiksen

While Avengers: Infinity War is done filming, Avengers 4 is just getting under way. Some new set photos seem to confirm previous rumors that the fourth Avengers will take at least part of the team to Japan. Or at least, a Japanese set built in Atlanta.

A casting call went out previously looking for actors to play Japanese gangsters (yakuza) and Japanese cafe patrons, leading to speculation that the movie would take place at least partly in Japan. The images above were captured in Atlanta, though, so it doesn’t look like anyone is actually getting out their passports.

Hey that’s not Japan!

As English-language Japanese culture site RocketNews notes, though, these shots point to a need for a consultant on site – or maybe some time travel. Many of the signs look outdated in either build or font, and the woman in the upper-right shot looks more like an anime tourist than a Japanese citizen. Japanese Twitter users have taken potshots at the images, saying that they look “like the kind of world where Ninja could pop at any moment,” and that they could be “something out of the musty old Showa period.”

Japan is an expensive country to film in, so it’s not surprising the studio decided to shoot in Atlanta, where they’re likely getting some major tax breaks. This year’s Baby Driver was written with Los Angeles in mind, but shifted to Atlanta for similar reasons, for example. Hopefully Marvel’s watching and puts some of their talented CGI artists to work fixing these signs in post production so that Japanese viewers aren’t treated to a blast from the past when Avengers 4 hits Japan.

Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on May 4, 2018, and Avengers 4, whose actual name is apparently a spoiler for Infinity War, hits theaters on May 3, 2019.