When Avengers 4 arrives in theaters in May 2019, it will conclude a story over a decade long. With that in mind, Marvel president Kevin Feige is very aware of the lofty expectations the movie is facing.
One of the clear examples Feige believes Avengers 4 will follow is Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The concluding chapter to the original Star Wars trilogy faced similar expectations and for the most part, delivered a satisfactory ending for fans (including the Marvel president) and Avengers 4 aims to do something similar.
“The best stories do come to an end,” said Feige. “Return of the Jedi was an ending for a long time and as a 10-year-old in 1983 that carried me through 30 years until there was a sequel. That hasn’t happened before in the superhero genre. A new actor comes in and a new storyline starts right way. We wanted to do it this way because we think that the best stories have a definitive ending to a storyline. That’s certainly what’s going to happen next year with Avengers 4.
As we know, like the Star Wars movies, there will still be more MCU movies coming well beyond the release of Avengers 4. There will still be a definitive ending point and that will likely be possible through the exit of multiple MCU stalwarts, but don’t expect Marvel to replace those characters any time soon.
“The Universe, the world, many of the characters we’ve introduced will continue onward in unexpected ways, some of which I don’t even know yet,” Feige said. “But bringing a definitive conclusion at the 22-film mark, and just over 10 years, seemed like the right thing to do.”
The MCU will continue after Avengers 4 with Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s said to be much lighter in tone and will restart the franchise in a new direction, much like how Star Wars: The Force Awakens did after the events of Return of the Jedi. Just don’t expect a new Iron Man or Captain America any time soon as some have theorized.
Avengers 4 arrives in theaters May 3, 2019.
