Ok, so the time is upon us. Most people have seen Black Panther that are going to see it. Now, the next movie on deck for all of us is Infinity War.
Taking bets on who dies.
I think it's very possible one of the 7 main Avengers (Stark, Cap, Thor, Hulk, Widow, Hawkeye, Fury) dies, but Dr. Strange uses the time gem to go back in time and revive/save them. Of the 7, Cap seems like the most likely.
Maybe something like Pepper and Cap die, and they can only save one, and Stark has to choose Cap for the sake of the mission.
Vision is a goner...
Paul Bettany is a great actor, IMHO; like, I'm definitely a fan -- but he's not getting a movie and I think his character goes nowhere within the MCU (he's not easy to write for given how these movies are going). And of all the Avengers, Vision, Hawkeye and Falcon are the least understood, least popular characters. I could see 2 of the three getting killed. Hawkeye and Vision would likely have the most on-screen emotional impact.
ScarJo isn't going anywhere, and I highly doubt they'll kill off either Cap or Iron Man and for two reasons.
For Downey Jr, his willingness to shepherd the franchise for so long, his on-screen presence, and his ability to act in both a comedic capacity as well as giving a more serious gravity to a movie is just irreplaceable. Downey Jr/Iron Man is what grounded the entire Spider-Man movie, for better or worse (many people loved how this was done).
For Chris Evans; while he's nowhere near the actor that Downey Jr is, he's still the guy leading what is the best Marvel franchise to date, and that's Captain America.
First Avenger, Winter Solider and Civil War were without a doubt among the 3 best MCU films released. Winter Soldier was a great film on it's own merits, regardless of the MCU.
Furthermore, there's a new and compelling direction for Steve Rogers and Black Widow (who is coming out with her own movie). If they go the Nomad route, as it seems they are; that would be worth seeing -- especially in this political age where confidence in the government is at an all time low. That also opens up a new plotline of Steve Rogers returning to the mantle Captain America after confronting U.S. Agent.
And FWIW, I don't think guys like Downey Jr, Evans or Hemsworth want to be killed off. Iron Man really reinvented Downey Jr's entire career; and Chris Evans isn't actually doing any real acting outside the MCU. For Hemsworth, I don't think he's as much at risk of typecasting and Thor isn't hurting his ability to get other parts. So I can't see these guys getting written out, especially while profitable.
Lastly, this idea that I've heard that Doctor Strange will herald the new Avengers ... meh ... not really sure I like that idea.
I think the direction of the next Phase of the MCU should be integrating the Fox properties including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Doctor Doom, Galactus and the Surfer, all the cosmic beings and aliens like the Skrulls and Kree (for Guardians mostly), re-working Scarlett Witch and potentially bringing back Quicksilver (not like she couldn't do this) and also introducing Magento -- which, will be a big fucking deal.
Think about how much adding the X-Men and FF franchises changes the MCU.. We just saw Black Panther dominate in theaters; and imagine eventually adding a well-acted Storm to those stories.. Or having Spidey fuck around in the Baxter building? Or a brutal and bloody fight between Wolverine and the Hulk.... Holy fuck balls..
And I could easily see the next Avengers antagonist either being the Brotherhood of Mutants which would be fucking amazing, or .. Doctor Doom with Ultron as his henchman.
