Looks like it’ll be awhile before we learn the actual name of the fourth installment of the Avengers movies. Yesterday, we reported on how Marvel might be looking to shake up its cinematic universe following the events of the next two films of its tentpole franchise, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige discussing how whatever comes after Avengers 4 will be “very different”—studio speak for “we’ve got movie stars whose contracts will be finished.” And now, in a new interview with Cinema Blend, Feige confirms something that has been suspected for a while—namely, the reason the next film after Avengers: Infinity War doesn’t have an official title yet is because the one Marvel’s got is a massive spoiler.
The idea that the fourth film may include some surprising twists first took shape back when we learned the next two Avengers films were no longer titled Infinity War Part I and Part II. So, when asked point blank if the reason Avengers 4 still doesn’t have a title is because its actual title constitutes a spoiler for the events of Avengers: Infinity War, Feige replied, “Yeah, for sure.” This suggests that, even if the Thanos storyline that’s been teased since the ending of the very first Avengers film back in 2012 is still spread across two films, whatever happens in the first will create some significant narrative changes in the second.
Reading between the lines, it’s possible Marvel might be a little unsure how to proceed following Avengers 4. It only has two films lined up right now—the follow-up to Spider-Man: Homecoming and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3—and Feige keeps stressing they’re not really certain what’s happening after that. Presumably, this is all just opening the door for a standalone Squirrel Girl film, and then the inevitable might of that hero’s Great Lakes Avengers team, finally giving Milwaukee, Wisconsin the hometown crimefighters it deserves.
UPDATE: Feige may not want to say what Avengers 4 will be called, but it looks like Guardians Of The Galaxy’s Zoe Saldana isn’t as worried about the name as he is. As reported by io9, Saldana was talking to the BBC about filming Infinity War, and she casually mentioned that she and the rest of the Guardians will soon have to go back “for Gauntlet.” The implication there is that the movie will be called Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet, with the name coming from the golden glove that Thanos is known to wear. That’s not much of a spoiler if it’s the spoiler Feige was talking about (since Age Of Ultron showed Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet), so it seems much more likely that Gauntlet is simply a placeholder name for Avengers 4.
[Note: io9, like The A.V. Club, is owned by Univision Communications.]