Is the title of Avengers 4 actually Avengers: Annihilation? When Marvel first announced their Phase 3 slate, Avengers: Infinity War was envisioned as a two-part movie. That slate changed a lot over the years, especially in light of Marvel's deal with Sony to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. One of the most interesting changes, though, was the decision to give Infinity War - Part II a different title. Surprisingly, Marvel then refused to reveal the new name for Avengers 4, with Kevin Feige claiming it would spoil Avengers: Infinity War.
Naturally, this has led to intense speculation among fans as to just what the title could be, especially following Avengers: Infinity War's cliffhanger ending. Given the marketing campaign for Avengers 4 is sure to kick off soon, it can't be long before that title is officially confirmed.
Naturally, this has led to intense speculation among fans as to just what the title could be, especially following Avengers: Infinity War's cliffhanger ending. Given the marketing campaign for Avengers 4 is sure to kick off soon, it can't be long before that title is officially confirmed.
At the beginning of October, there were rumors the title could be Avengers: Annihilation. These were initially treated with more than a little skepticism, but as time has passed there have been growing rumors that this may be right. Here, we'll run through all the evidence.
The title of Avengers: Annihilation was first guessed by CBR back in April. They suggested that the title could be lifted from a popular comic book event from 2006, in large part because the villain of that arc - Annihilus - was driven by a desire for universal balance. His motives are fairly similar to those of the MCU version of Thanos. As circumstantial evidence, they pointed out that from March 2018 Marvel Comics began to republish the Annihilation event. There is a precedent for the comic book publisher to make sure trades of a story are out in the year or so before a story is adapted for the big screen.
That title guess was largely forgotten for months, though, lost in the chatter online following Avengers: Infinity War. It resurfaced again in October when MCUCosmic reported that sources had claimed the title was Avengers: Annihilation. This was allegedly verified by multiple sources; it was also suggested that Mark Ruffalo's joke-spoiler on Jimmy Fallon was a troll from Marvel about the leak to draw attention away from Annihilation.
There is some supporting evidence for this rumor. The first is a cryptic photo released by the Russo brothers accompanied with a simple comment: "look hard." Given the Russos appear to be quite enjoying stoking the rumor mill for the title, this was generally assumed to be a clue, and attentive fans combed over it. The most obvious detail was the double-A, which some suggested could mean the film was called Avengers: Assemble. That was deemed unlikely, given that was the title the first Avengers film released to in the United Kingdom, and attention moved elsewhere. But, in light of the rumors, that double-A really stood for Avengers: Annihilation.
This idea does seem rather odd, though. Even Marvel insiders who know the title, such as co-president Louis D'Esposito, have admitted they don't quite understand what that image is supposed to mean. That would be unlikely if the meaning of the image was as simple as a double-A. Still, it is possible D'Esposito was just joining in with the trolling of fans.
The cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War saw Thanos emerge triumphant, erasing half the life in the universe with just a snap of his fingers. Although it's generally believed there'll be a time-jump between the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, the sequel is expected to continue that story and reveal just how the surviving Avengers either undo or avert the snap.
In April last year, Kevin Feige suggested that a major reason for withholding the new title of Avengers 4 was the fact that it would spoil Infinity War. In March, shortly before Infinity War's release, the Russo brothers confirmed that fans should be worried about how Infinity War would play out in light of Marvel's reluctance to reveal Avengers 4's title. This fits with a title like Annihilation, which would almost certainly have led to speculation online that Thanos would emerge triumphant. However, though, this would also be true with many of the other main contenders, such as Avengers: Endgame.
What makes End Game an unlikely Avengers 4 title is that it was spoken in Avengers: Infinity War. Speaking just after the first part's release, Joe Russo said that the 2019's film title was not spoken in its direct predecessor, which rules out the likes of End Game and No Time At All. What it maintains is Annihilation; that word isn't spoken once in the two-and-a-half hour movie, which would make it eligible to include (although has popped up in previous MCU efforts).
As for what the title could be, Anthony Russo's subsequent comments also line up with Annihilation: "It’s certainly grounded in the narrative that we have been following throughout the MCU – very well grounded…"
While most of the official title discussion for Avengers 4 has been focused on what it won't, there has been some positive confirmation. One of the most popular titles straight after Infinity War was Avengers: Forever (due to its time travel plot and "4ever" styling), and while the Russos shot it down, they said that - at the time - it was the closest anybody had gotten.
"Annihilation" isn't exactly a synonym for "Forever", but it is a similarly grandiose term of near infinite scale, so fits better than most of the other options.
One thing most Marvel Studios movie titles have in common is that they're based on a comic book: The Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron, Civil War, Ragnarok, and even Infinity War were all major comic events before they became blockbuster films. This tradition persists despite most of these having very little in common with the stories on which they're based - Captain America: Civil War saw Iron Man and Cap fight, but most of the surrounding narrative was changed, while Avengers: Infinity War itself was a mix of several stories and original ideas.
So, while Marvel movies are slowly moving further and further away from their comic source, they still tend to nod in that direction with their titles. As already established, Annihilation was a comic arc from the 2000s, so while we may not be seeing Annihilus in the MCU (yet), the precedent is there for his big event t0 be used.
The most recent evidence is a rumor from the Russian social media site vk.com. It showed apparent concept art of Iron Man using his proton cannon, and alleged that the first trailer for Avengers: Annihilation would be released in November, scored by a new rendition of Twelve Titans Music's song "Dust and Light" (which was used in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies trailer).
This makes sense - the November trailer drop is in line with Marvel's normal marketing approach - but it's unclear exactly what information was presented to the trailer group who posted this leak. They could easily have just been told when the trailer would drop, and added all the hashtags related to the film; that would have included #Annihilation.
By now, there's a lot of circumstantial evidence backing the suggestion that Avengers 4's title is Annihilation. However, while that prospective title has definitely become the front-runner, it's yet to be officially confirmed - and a lot of the evidence is very much open to interpretation. All that means the Annihilation title is still firmly in the rumor category. What we can say with some certainty, though, is that the truth will come out soon, most probably with the Avengers 4 trailer drop at the end of the month.
Avengers:Annihilation Concept Trailer!
