Dave Bautista Hints That 'Avengers: Infinity War' Will Introduce New Heroes To The MCU: Will We Meet Captain Marvel?

Right now, it's honestly beginning to seem as though Marvel Studios can't put a foot wrong. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is proving to be just the latest blockbuster success for Marvel Studios; trailer views for Thor: Ragnarok broke Disney records; and, of course, there's a Spider-Man movie due out in a matter of months. Meanwhile, all eyes are beginning to turn to next year's Avengers: Infinity War, which promises to be the crowning glory of the MCU to date.

Of course, right now the cast of Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 are doing the rounds promoting the film — and Dave Bautista, a.k.a. Drax the Destroyer, has just dropped a tantalizing hint for Infinity War. He told PodcastOne:

"They’re really just adding so many characters in this. ‘Cuz they’re also starting to introduce other characters like they did in Captain America [Civil War]. They’ve brought in Spider-Man. But they’re going to start moving into different phases of Marvel. So they’re introducing other characters. Black Panther. They’re gonna go a whole series of Black Panther."

At one point, the Russo brothers were telling us that Infinity War would feature a whopping 68 named characters (they later admitted that was a joke). Whatever the actual number may be, we know the cast includes countless key Marvel heroes, from Captain America to the Winter Soldier, from the Guardians of the Galaxy to the Black Panther.

If Dave Bautista's right, though, then Infinity War will also mark the cinematic debut of some new characters, presumable ones whom Marvel plan to develop in the future of the MCU. Last year's Captain America: Civil War introduced us to both Tom Holland's newest incarnation of Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman's phenomenal Black Panther. Unlike other Marvel heroes to date, they didn't get their own solo movie first; they were introduced as pre-existing heroes as part of an ensemble film. Given both characters were a tremendous success, it's not surprising to hear that Marvel may be planning to repeat that process.

Of course, the difference here is that we knew to expect Spider-Man and Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War. It's possible that, this time, Marvel is preparing a few surprises. That might help explain Kevin Feige's reluctance to go into detail about the shape of the MCU after the as-yet-untitled Avengers 4.

But who could be introduced in Infinity War?

Could We Meet Captain Marvel?

The most likely candidate is Brie Larson's Captain Marvel; in fact, her name was actually mentioned on the casting call for Infinity War! But here's the catch; we know that the 2019 Captain Marvel movie will be an origin story.

Ironically, though, that doesn't stop Carol Danvers from playing a role, as she was a major supporting character in the comics long before she ever got powers. What's more, the comics themselves have recently retconned her origin, tying her more closely to NASA than to the Air Force; this origin would fit rather well with the cosmic stakes of Infinity War. In fact, many fans are speculating that Carol Danvers may be associated with S.W.O.R.D., an organization dedicated to protecting the world from alien threats. Let's face it, the events of 2012's The Avengers would lead the world's governments to prepare their own defences in case the Chitauri ever returned — and S.W.O.R.D. would fit the bill.

The truth is, right now Carol Danvers is the only character we can even make a guess will be introduced in Infinity War. That said, if she's introduced as a member of S.W.O.R.D., then we may get other major S.W.O.R.D. members too. While a lot of key characters are strongly associated with the X-Men — Beast and Alpha Flight, for example — there are several we'd expect Marvel to have the rights to. Agent Brand, for example, is the 'Nick Fury' figure of S.W.O.R.D.: a green-haired human / alien hybrid who makes Nick Fury look jolly. Meanwhile, another possibility is that Carol Danvers's closest friend, Jessica Drew, could make her debut. Jessica Drew, of course, is more famously known as Spider-Woman.

Right now, we know precious little about Marvel's future direction after Infinity War — and that makes Dave Bautista's cryptic clue all the more fascinating. We can safely say that Carol Danvers is likely to make an appearance in some form; given her solo film is an origin story, we can expect her to be non-powered. But who else will be introduced? Only time will tell.

(Source: PodcastOne)