The fourth "Avengers" movie will be a key inflection point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, according to producer Kevin Feige. Like, the end of the beginning.
The still-untitled movie, due in May 2019, will "bring things you've never seen in superhero films: a finale," Feige told Vanity Fair for its new holiday issue.
Of course, said finale _ which theoretically could involve any number of dead superheroes _ would only affect characters who make it through May 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War," right? Small comfort, as the third "Avengers" installment includes just about every Marvel character we've seen so far.
"There will be two distinct periods," Feige told the magazine. "Everything before 'Avengers 4' and everything after. I know it will not be in ways people are expecting."
Audiences couldn't be blamed for expecting a lot, given that when the movie started production, Feige spun it as "the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as started in May of 2008" with the release of the first "Iron Man" movie. No biggie.
Culmination or not, Marvel Studios' cameras will keep rolling. With more than a score of films under its belt already, he said, Marvel's "got another 20 movies on the docket that are completely different from anything that's come before _ intentionally."
