Avengers: Infinity War will be the biggest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet with all the previous 18 films leading up to it. It will tie in storylines from several of its predecessors, but it will be most directly linked to Captain America: Civil War. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo commented on how the two movies will connect, and we also have an idea of the time frame between them.

The directors revealed that Infinity War will be a direct sequel to Civil War in the same way Civil War was a sequel to Winter Soldier.

“It’s a direct corollary to the end of Civil War, you’re going into this film with the ramifications of that film at the forefront of this film”

Anthony Russo also commented on the long narrative journey they started with Winter Soldier.

“For us, since we entered the MCU as storytellers, and we picked up the story with Winter Soldier, we’ve been carrying a thread forward from that point, a narrative thread. And for us this movie is very much about, how do we move forward from Civil War in a big way, and what happens to that division between the Avengers and how does that affect them. What does that mean when the greatest threat they’ll ever face comes to them, in that kind of a condition, in that kind of divided condition.”

If you’ll recall, Civil War ended with Cap breaking his team out of prison and presumably going on the run. They are now seen in the public eye as “fugitives” that act outside the law and outside public opinion. Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson described that they’ve been doing this for two to three years by the time Infinity War starts.

“When we last saw these characters in Civil War it’s been probably two or three years that have passed, and our characters have been kind of part of some sort of counter-terrorism unit efforts but we’re flying under the radar, and you know it’s a lot I think when you are on these kinds of missions with no governmental support. You don’t even have the support of just the general public, and you’re sort of running rogue, trying to do what you know is best for the common man but you don’t have someone to guide you or support you.”

The team will no doubt be different from the last time they saw each other. Cap’s team has been flying under the radar, Iron Man’s made new alliances, Hulk’s been stuck in space for the last several years, and Thor will have joined with the Guardians of the Galaxy. It will be interesting to see them all back together with all these changes since Age of Ultron and Civil War.

–Caleb Sadd

Sources – /Film, ET

Avengers: Infinity War releases in theaters on April 27th, 2018.

An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their superhero allies must willing to sacrifice it all in an attempt to defeat the power of Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, and Josh Brolin.