Just before Christmas, it was reported that Avengers 4 would incorporate some element of time travel as a means of rebooting the Marvel Cinematic Universe – one wave of the fully-armed Infinity Gauntlet and, poof, the MCU has irrevocably changed.
It’s a compelling theory, too, given one of the Infinity Stones actively bestows its user with the ability to manipulate spacetime. However, there is now evidence to suggest that Tony Stark’s world-famous B.A.R.F. (Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing) is responsible for those old-school set photos, as amateur photographers recently captured the likes of Captain America and Thor in their Phase One attire.
So, mystery solved? Not quite. While appearing on MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, in which they discuss everything from Nomad to Avengers 4, Joe and Anthony Russo addressed rumors of time travel being introduced to the MCU.
It’s a must-listen for any self-respecting Marvel fan, and when the Russo Brothers were quizzed about those aforementioned set photos – set photos that depicted a recreation of the Battle of New York – Joe Russo pointed fans in the direction of Civil War. For added context, we’ve included that scene that the director refers to up above.
Anthony Russo: “Oh you know, big fan of the technique.”
Joe Russo: “Back to the Future…”
Anthony Russo: “Yeah, Back to the Future…”
Joe Russo: “Look, it’s interesting because yes there are photos that always leak, and then there’s lots of conjecture about what those photos mean. Certainly, there is a five-minute sequence in ‘Civil War’ around a piece of technology that was laid in for a very specific reason. So if you go back and look at that film, you may get a hint as to a direction.”
Time travel or B.A.R.F., Avengers 4 will smash into theaters on May 3rd, 2019 – exactly one year after its predecessor, Infinity War.