In the run-up to Avengers: Infinity War, we’ve heard a lot of talk that it and its currently-untitled sequel, Avengers 4, will act as a grand finale to the MCU as we know it – a culmination of everything the franchise has been building up to over the nearly twenty films that have been released this past decade. Now that it’s finally here, the newly released trailer for the pic makes this very clear by calling back to the MCU’s past in a major way.
The opening of the Infinity War trailer features the cast reciting a familiar speech for longtime Marvel fans: Nick Fury’s talk about the purpose of the Avenger Initiative back in The Avengers.
“There was an idea…” recalls Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, in what we’re not sure is a repeat of the original quote or a new recording.
“… To bring together a group of remarkable people…” adds Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Stephen Strange, as he and Wong receive an unexpected guest in the form of Bruce Banner.
“… To see if we could become something more…” continues Vision (Paul Bettany), as Scarlet Witch and a somehow human version of the android share a romantic moment.
“…. So when they needed us, we could fight their battles…” chimes in Thor (Chris Hemsworth), while the God of Thunder is on board a spaceship (the Milano?).
Finally, as a scene between Black Widow and Hulk plays, Scarlett Johansson finishes with: “… To fight the battles they never could.”
To compare it with the original quote, here’s what Nick Fury said in The Avengers:
“There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to to fight the battles we never could.”
The Avenger Initiative was first mentioned in the groundbreaking post-credits scene of 2008’s Iron Man, when Fury showed up to pitch the idea to Tony Stark. After Earth’s Mightiest Heroes came together, though, the project wasn’t mentioned much, with Fury himself taking a back seat, too. So, it’s nice to see both the character returning, and the idea that kicked off the whole universe getting a callback.
Avengers: Infinity War arrives in theaters on May 4th, 2018.