Every Hero Confirmed For Avengers: Infinity War

Cameron Bonomolo

11/09/2017 05:23 pm EST

Early last year, word got around that Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War would include nearly 70 characters. With the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe expanding and introducing new characters all the time, it can be hard to keep up with which characters are actually taking part in what is being described as a culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since its inception with Iron Man in 2008.

"People will not be disappointed in the amount of characters in the movie," said Joe Russo, who directs alongside brother Anthony Russo. "The concept of Infinity War is that the Marvel Universe unites to battle the greatest threat to the world and universe that you've ever seen, and we're going to honor that concept." That threat will be the intergalactic Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin), who has been after the all-powerful Infinity Stones since 2012's The Avengers.

At one point, the directors revealed they "have so many characters" they're dealing with, that they had a board with 67 characters on it. A number, clarifies co-writer Christopher Markus, that "comes from the fact that that's everyone who's already been introduced. If you line up all the characters who are available to use from the prior Marvel movies, it racks up to about 60 something characters, let alone the new ones you could bring in."

With such a large cast, keeping track of who's included and who's left out of Infinity War can be tricky. And what we know now is different than what we knew even just a few months ago. Here's where we're at. (Heads up: this article discusses everything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to the point of Spider-Man: Homecoming, so beware of spoilers if you still need to catch up.)

The Avengers

The original lineup of Avengers — Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) — will be returning alongside the crop of new Avengers, including Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Vision (Paul Bettany), and War Machine (Don Cheadle), who will suit up for action despite his crippling Captain America: Civil War injury by way of his tech genius best friend, Tony Stark. Thor's mischievous half brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), will be along for the ride: after all, his attack on Earth as seen in The Avengers was birthed out of fearful servitude on behalf of his plotting boss, Thanos.

The Guardians of the Galaxy

When the Guardians of the Galaxy make their way to Earth in Infinity War, the intergalactic a-holes will cross paths with Earth's mightiest heroes, the Avengers. As seen in the Infinity War footage released at D23 and San Diego Comic Con, it looks like Thor will be the link that ultimately brings the two groups together, with the Asgardian demigod running into the Guardians (literally), smacking into their spaceship, the Milano. The only member of the Guardians who won't be helping save the universe, again, will be (spoilers) everyone's favorite Centaurian, the blue-skinned, red-mohawked Yondu (Michael Rooker). When we next see the Guardians come Infinity War, it will have been four years since their adventures as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) leading a team that includes Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista), Adolescent Groot (Vin Diesel), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Nebula (Karen Gillan).

Newer New Avengers: Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange

When Thanos makes his move, it will be all hands on deck. Newcomer hero Spider-Man (Tom Holland) will join the ranks of Earth's mightiest heroes, joining the fray in a special suit once again donned by Tony Stark. Red, black, and gold, the suit — which made a brief first appearance at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, with Peter Parker turning down both the suit and the opportunity to become an Avenger — will have some modifications and upgrades, one such being Spidey's new glowing eye lenses. Paul Rudd's Scott Lang was spotted on the Infinity War set, interacting with another universe newcomer, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), himself joined by loyal ally Wong (Benedict Wong). T'Challa, aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), proud king of the mysterious and powerful African nation of Wakanda, will take part in the fight against Thanos and his allies, with Okoye (Danai Gurira) — leader of T'Challa's Dora Milaje — also set to make an appearance. Lastly, Bucky (Sebastian Stan), once the brainwashed super-killer known as the Winter Soldier, was spotted in the Infinity War footage leading an army of his own.

Thanos and the Black Order

Thanos won't be alone in his attempted conquering of the universe: he'll be accompanied by his children, the Black Order. As revealed at San Diego Comic Con, the group consists of Ebony Maw, Corvus Glave, Proxima Midnight, Supergiant, and Cull Obsidian (in the comics, this character is known as Black Dwarf). We know little of the twisted Brady Bunch, but the characters made their entry into the Marvel Comics universe in 2013's New Avengers #8. It would be fair to assume at least some of the Black Order will have a run-in with Thanos' other children: his adopted daughters, Gamora and Nebula, aka members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Talk about family issues.

You'll See (Almost) Everybody

If we're talking major characters, there's one big, glaring omission: Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury was a crucial character in Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, stepping out of the shadows to recruit Tony Stark into a wider world of superheroes. Fury has yet to be officially confirmed, though he was reportedly spotted on the film's set in Durham, England. Said writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus when asked if Fury would be included in Infinity War after being absent for much of Avengers: Age of Ultron and entirely absent in Captain America: Civil War, the writing duo said they "would think" you'd see the super spy in the film. "It's probably all hands on deck," said McFeely. "Don't you assume you'll see everybody in the Infinity Wars?" asked Markus.

Well, no. Not everybody: Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) isn't in Infinity War, director Joe Russo told Comic Book. Also sitting this one out will be another upcoming superheroine, the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), who will make her superhero debut in next summer's Ant-Man and the Wasp. As confirmed by Lilly, the filmmakers behind the Ant-Man sequel rightfully believed Hope Pym deserved to have her origin and her suit revealed in a stand alone movie, rather than an Avengers sequel; as such, Wasp won't join the team until Avengers 4, releasing exactly one year after Infinity War.

Jeremy Renner recently went on record saying Avengers: Infinity War has "lots of storylines, lots of characters," and with the movie's basic premise being a culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point, the Avengers threequel probably isn't the best place to introduce new heroes like Captain Marvel and the Wasp. There are plenty of characters and stories to juggle, and Marvel Studios has included every major character (and a plethora of smaller ones) in Infinity War, a feat in and of itself. The superhero epic, along with Avengers 4, will be "in some ways... an ending to a long journey for many characters," and "will also be a beginning for other characters," said director Anthony Russo. The Marvel Cinematic Universe looks to enter the deconstruction phase post-Infinity Wars, and who knows? There could be a lot more room in the MCU by the time Thanos makes his grand debut...

Avengers: Infinity War opens May 4th, 2018.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.