I think it’s very likely that Avengers 4 will be the last ride for Downey, Hemsworth, Evans, and Ruffalo, at a minimum. But, I do think that those who have been dusted will, generally, be somehow returned – but for an additional reason beyond Marvel / Disney being unlikely to kill off popular characters (played by popular actors).
The other reason is this, and it has nothing to do with the dead Avengers: Thanos just killed 3.8 billion humans on Earth; there’s a 50/50 chance that MCU you, and MCU me, have been disintegrated. It’s one thing for a comic-book movie to depict an alien race being devastated, or even an Earth city or region to be heavily damaged (New York City, Sokovia, etc.) But, permanently wiping out unfathomable numbers of humans on Earth hits home in a way that those just don’t, and, IMO, is darker than Marvel tends to go.
I suspect many will be revived - but there will be a heavy price to pay. I believe that Stark and/or Cap will end up sacrificing themselves in some way to bring some or all of those “dusted” back. It’s certainly easy for me to imagine Stark giving up his life to bring back Parker; Stark was acting as a mentor and father-figure to Parker, or at least trying to. Stark has been carrying a shit-ton of guilt and dread since the first Avenger movie; add in Stark’s daddy issues, and I think he’ll be willing to lay down on that wire*, once he realizes there’s no way to cut it.
Cap? Well, he’s just Cap. Give him the option, and he’ll do it.
*Remember that exchange between Cap and Stark in the first Avengers?
As well as Sif (missing from Thor: Ragnarok, as well; ISTR either the director, or Kevin Feige, explicitly stating that she wasn’t on Asgard when it was destroyed).
Yeah, but Tony proved him wrong by flying a nuke through a hole in space with no real expectation of surviving.
I’m predicting they find a way to unsnap the fingers, but only the dusted will return; then there will be a huge conflict between Thor and Strange. Thor will want to rewind just a few more hours to recover Loki, Heimdall and scores of Asgardians, and Strange will be ‘nope, temporal prime directive, yadda yadda yadda.’
Especially given that Sony still has a major interest in Spider-Man. To draw a metaphor from the Distinguished Competition, they aren’t going to be impressed by the argument that Marvel is just setting fire to their half of the pile.
Rocket: The name’s Rocket.
Captain America: Rocket Raccoon? Good to meet you.
Rocket: See? This guy gets it. I’m not a rabbit and I’m not a stinking trash panda.
Captain America: Rocket Raccoon, like the Beetles song. I understand that reference.
Rocket: What? No. What the hell are you talking about?
Or something along those lines. The writers can work it a little to fit the scene.
Here’s how the movie will start: A rehash of the scene where Nick’s beeper sends a signal to Captain Marvel…cutting to the image of her beeper on the ground lighting up as her ashes are swept away by the wind.
Well yeah, but he certainly isn’t a rabbit or a trash panda.
Right, but he’s also catching up on the things that he missed (see his meet cute with Sam Wilson in The Winter Soldier) and the “I understand that reference” calls back to his line in Marvel’s The Avengers.
Possible derail (I can start a new thread if people think this drifts too far):
What is the future of the mcu after Avengers 4? Thanos will inevitably be defeated, and it’s very likely (almost certain) that a few of the original mcu avengers won’t survive.
So what next?
Obviously there’s a shit ton of Spider-man stories to be told (though if Sony has any say I just have to accept the Venom story will never be done right) and plenty of lesser known heroes that could be introduced.
but what are the future team up movies they could make? If Marvel makes a Fantastic Four film, we could get Doctor Doom and eventually Galactus. Anyone more knowledgeable in marvel have any idea where these films will go? Because they’re surely going to keep making them Until they stop making money (which is a long way down the track imho).
X-Men. Marvel has the rights to them now so expect to see them coming into the MCU. I guess they’ll come up with some in universe explanation for why we haven’t seen any of them up to now, they were all in hiding for some reason maybe? I’d also expect Punisher, Deadpool, Luke Cage and Iron Fist to appear in the MCU pretty soon maybe just as cameos?
I also expect given the success of Dr Strange and the GotG movies for them to go off more into the “cosmic” side of the Marvel universe. Silver Surfer seems like a safe bet for a future movie and there is loads of cosmic beings he can fight.
Punisher, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are part of Marvel Studios’ TV offerings and hence ostensibly part of the MCU along with Jessica Jones and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Yes, I meant I expect to see them crossing over into the films at some point, maybe same actors, maybe not. And Agent Coulson returning… I hope anyway!