'Avengers 4' Spoilers: Captain America and Black Widow Roles Will "Pay Off"

It’s been almost a month now, and fans are still reeling from the aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War. While the original Avengers were spared from Thanos’s annihilation of the universe, many of the newer beloved heroes were not. In a new interview, the screenwriters reveal that two original Avengers in particular will rise to a far more prominent role than they had in Infinity War.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) remained grounded to Earth while the other Avengers like Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) were high up in space. In an interview with the New York Times published before Memorial Day weekend, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed that Cap and Widow will have bigger roles than just playing goaltenders in Wakanda in next year’s still-untitled Avengers 4.

“[W]e’re never writing without knowing where the end goes,” they told the Times. They then teased that Captain America and Black Widoe specifically will “have a much bigger role to play in that second film.”

“We gave ourselves license to pay off later,” McFeely added.

This is kind of a no-brainer given the significance of both Cap and Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it’s still telling that the screenwriters singled these two out specifically for Avengers 4. The movies in Phase 4 of Marvel Studios’s theatrical releases are shrouded in mystery, but Avengers 4 could lead into that Black Widow movie, or even a new Captain America trilogy led by anyone else besides Chris Evans.

While the rest of the MCU have disintegrated into nothingness — including even Black Panther, Spider-Man, and most of the Guardians of the Galaxy — the original Avengers survived, along with new favorites like Okoye and Rocket. Along with the imminent arrival of Captain Marvel (played by Brie Larson), there is a fighting chance for the good guys to undo Thanos’s destruction. And frankly, there’s no one I’d root harder for than Steve and Natasha.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now. Avengers 4 will be released on May 5, 2019.