Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free
*WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR *
Dave Bautista has confirmed he'll be back for both Avengers 4 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Infinity War , doesn't exactly seem like a surprise. But, for anyone who has, is all the more intriguing.
The revelation seems to confirm what most will have suspected after the credits rolled on the film: that there will be a way to bring back those who disintegrated after Thanos clicked his fingers and, through the power of all six Infinity Stones, wiped out half of all life.
A fact already heavily suggested by the fact every single member of the Guardians outside of Rocket Raccoon failed to survive; as much as a solo Rocket film would be delightful, it's a little absurd to think another Guardians sequel would go ahead without Chris Pratt's Star-Lord.
Director James Gunn has already confirmed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will take place after the events of Avengers 4 ; so we'll likely see most of the original line-up, minus Gamora - whose own death at Thanos' hands seems a little more permanent.
Bautista told Collider in an interview : "I got a lot of texts saying, ‘I can’t believe you’re dead, your character is dead.’ They were really like heartbroken and I was like ‘I’m gonna be in four. I’m gonna be in Guardians 3 .’ I don’t know how they’re bringing me back, yeah but somehow I’m going to make it because, as far as I know, I am going to be in Guardians 3 , so I have to be back."
Show all 17 1 /17A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Avengers: Infinity War (4 May, 2018) A decade of the MCU comes to a climax with the first of a two-part "finale" to everything that's come so far. Uniting all of the MCU's heroes to fight Josh Brolin's Thanos, the film is expected to say farewell to some old favourites - expect tears.
Disney/Marvel
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Deadpool 2 (18 May, 2018) Josh Brolin pops up again in Fox's own superhero sequel. This time as Cable, the time-traveller and sometimes ally of Deadpool; though it seems here he's initially (at least) being set up as an antagonist. The film will also see the introduction of the X-Force.
20th Century Fox
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Ant-Man and the Wasp (6 July, 2018) Taking place between the events of Civil War and Infinity War, the Peyton Reed-directed sequel will see Evangeline Lily's Hope suit up as Wasp, becoming the MCU's first female hero to get her name in the title.
Disney/Marvel
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Venom (5 October, 2018) With Sony teaming up with Disney for Spider-Man: Homecoming, the character won't be able to exist outside of the MCU. However, Sony is still keen for their own superhero cinematic universe, looking to the wider Spiderverse for their options. Enter Tom Hardy's Venom, an antihero infected with an alien parasite.
Sony Pictures
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (14 December, 2018) Sony also has Miles Morales at their disposal: the current Spider-Man in the comics. It may be difficult to transition him into live-action, but the studio is at least releasing an animated rendition of the character, developed by The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chis Miller.
Sony Pictures
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Silver and Black (8 February, 2019) As a follow-up to Venom, Sony has hired Love & Basketball's Gina Prince-Bythewood for a film centred around Silver Sable and Black Cat.
Getty Images
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Dark Phoenix (14 February, 2019) Fox's X-Men franchise continues with another decade-jumping installment, this time re-telling the Dark Phoenix storyline (as seen in X-Men: The Last Stand) during the 1990s. Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy will all return, with Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner taking the spotlight as Jean Grey.
20th Century Fox
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Captain Marvel (8 March, 2019) Brie Larson will step into Captain Marvel's shoes for another '90s set adventure, with Samuel L. Jackson's Nicky Fury also along for the ride.
Getty Images for Disney
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Avengers 4 (3 May, 2019) With directors the Russo brothers hinting at a spoilerific title, we won't know much about what the last film of Marvel's Phase Three entails for a while. But all suggestions point to something huge for the future of the MCU.
Disney/Marvel
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Gambit (7 June, 2019) Lambasted with delays and two different directors dropping out, Gambit still seems to be clinging onto the production line. Let's hope we'll finally get to see Channing Tatum as the X-Men's resident thief soon.
Getty Images
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (5 July, 2019) Tom Holland's Spider-Man will likely be a prominent figure in the MCU's future, so no wonder the character already has a sequel confirmed.
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out The New Mutants (2 August, 2019) With the current crop of X-Men coming to their inevitable end, Fox is likely hoping to launch the new generation with the help of this horror-infused take.
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2020) James Gunn, who directed the previous two Guardians films, has already teased a third. How it might be impacted by the events of Infinity War is yet to be seen.
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Doctor Strange 2 (TBD) Another film yet to be confirmed, but it seems inevitable the character will be getting another outing as part of the MCU's future. Indeed, director Scott Derrickson and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill revealed there's already a concept and villain for the second film: with Benedict Cumberbatch's hero fighting Nightmare, ruler of the Dream Dimension.
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Black Panther 2 (TBD) After Black Panther's monumental success at the box office, it was only a matter of time before Marvel confirmed a sequel. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige also said he's hoping Ryan Coogler will once more direct.
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out X-23 (TBD) Fox is also looking to develop the future of X-23, first introduced as Dafne Keen's Laura in Logan. A script is currently in the works.
A complete list of every Marvel movie coming out Black Widow (TBD) It's been rumoured (and wished for) for years, but Marvel finally made their first concrete move towards a Black Widow solo film in January, hiring Jac Schaeffer to pen a script. The film, however, doesn't yet have the greenlight.
Captain Marvel's introduction to the MCU hint at the answer ?
Avengers 4 hits UK cinemas 3 May 2019.
*Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies