The untitled Avengers 4 movie was originally announced as 'Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2', so it's little wonder that we've assumed Avengers: Infinity War would lead directly into it.
But director Joe Russo has explained that the movie is a standalone story in its own right, and how it will relate to the imminent Infinity War.
"Our approach has always been... we look at the process, as with [writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely], it's simply the same thing in the way that The Winter Soldier relates to Civil War, and the way that Civil War relates to Infinity War," he told Screen Rant.
"These two movies will also relate. There's a narrative thread that is connecting these films, but at the same time, there's an independence in terms of what the experience is or where the story goes."
As happens with these creative things, the original plans for the story evolved as Joe and his brother Anthony Russo developed the story.
"It isn't a true two-parter, and I think the two-parter concept came back when Marvel decided they were going to culminate the MCU, it was going to be a two-movie deal," he continued. "But as we developed the movie, in execution, it ended up being more of two singular expressions. And I think that's just what happened."
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This does leave a big question mark over the storyline of Avengers 4. We had assumed that it would continue the battle with Thanos that begins in Infinity War. But could there be a completely different threat lurking in the wings? Only time will tell.
Avengers: Infinity War will be released on April 26 in the UK and on April 27 in the US. The sequel will follow at the end of April 2019.
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