In Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange set up a chain of events that would culminate in Avengers: Endgame. When he found himself on Titan, the Sorcerer Supreme used the power of the Time Stone to go forward into the future to see over 14 million outcomes and find the one instance where the Avengers succeeded in defeating Thanos. When the Mad Titan finally faced Strange, the Doctor gave him the Time Stone, ensuring a timeline where the villain would snap his fingers and wipe out half of all life in the universe.
But the villain's victory would only be temporary. Before he crumbled to dust, Strange told Tony they were now in the endgame, a warning that would give the next Avengers film its title. In actuality, this sequence of events was the one eventuality where the superheroes would, five years later, collect the Infinity Stones through the time stream, bring everyone Thanos had killed back and defeat the villain and his army once and for all. However, Doctor Strange may have been wrong. Yes, the endgame did bring about Thanos' defeat and the return of everyone he had snapped away. But things are far from over.
In fact, you might say they are just beginning.
As we saw in Avengers: Endgame, Doctor Strange's one outcome where Earth's Mightiest Heroes win came to pass. Tony Stark snapped Thanos and his army away, a move that cost him his life. What's more, this sequence of events also led to the death of Natasha Romanoff and the retirement of Steve Rogers. And yet, while the movie was the end for many of the original Avengers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps running full steam ahead. In fact, Marvel has already unveiled its full slate for Phase 4, and some of the movies for Phase 5 have also been announced. Because of this, we know that multiple films and series will deal with the direct fallout of Avengers: Endgame.
The Disney+ television series WandaVision, Loki and Falcon and the Winter Soldier are all direct results of the events of Endgame. WandaVision will reunite Scarlet Witch with Vision in some reality or another, as Wanda Maximoff deals with the loss of the android she loved following his death in Infinity War.
What's more, Loki will follow the adventures of a version of the God of Mischief we met in Endgame, after the Avengers' plan to steal the Tesseract ended with the Asgardian disappearing with the powerful artifact instead. This Loki split away from the main timeline and is now an alternate version of the character. In his television series, the character will run into problems of his own when he meets the Time Variance Agency, an organization that deals with all manner of changes in the time stream. As for Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the television series will show us how Sam Wilson deals with the responsibilities of becoming the new Captain America after Steve Rogers passed on his red, white and blue shield to him.
All three television series will continue threads from Avengers: Endgame, which means the film was not the end at all. For these characters and these upcoming storylines, Endgame was just the beginning. Therefore, Doctor Strange was only partially right; yes, the events he set into motion would lead to Thanos' defeat, but things are still far from over.
Furthermore, the events of Endgame may continue to be examined in other movies -- primarily Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
In Sam Raimi's upcoming Doctor Strange film, the Sorcerer Supreme will be joined by the Scarlet Witch in an adventure that, if the title is to be believed, will take viewers on a trip through the Marvel Multiverse. What we don't know, however, is what will prompt this voyage across multiple realities. The film could very well examine the fallout of Doctor Strange experiencing over 14 million futures, and the possible toll such a tactic took on him.
Or Strange could attempt to change reality for the better while undoing certain losses. In fact, after the devastating events of Endgame, Stephen Strange could even be compelled to find Tony Stark, or an alternate version of him, to save his life and bring him back. Strange could also try to create a new reality, one that better blends the differences between those who were "blipped" and those who weren't. And who knows, perhaps his quest could even involve another version of Thanos, a version that Strange could attempt to turn to the side of good in the hopes of creating a better reality. There are plenty of possibilities and, whatever takes place in the film, it's likely to be driven by the events of Endgame -- further proof that the film was no end at all.
Furthermore, the Doctor Strange sequel may not be the only film that will continue the threads of Infinity War and Endgame. In fact, Eternals is said to span thousands of years of the MCU, from the past to the present -- and maybe even beyond. Since the race of super-powered Eternals has a strong connection to Titan, we may learn more about Thanos -- maybe even how the villain planned to be resurrected following his untimely demise.
Plus, Thor: Love and Thunder may further explore the ramifications of Endgame, as the God of Thunder embarks on a new path that may lead him to other parts of the cosmos -- as well as take us back to New Asgard itself. Whatever happens in his latest adventure, it's certain to continue to explore threads that were established after the five-year time-jump in the fourth Avengers film. The case is also the same for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will presumably see Star-Lord continue his search for Gamora.
Phase 4 of the MCU will be a new beginning for characters such as the Eternals, Shang-Chi, She-Hulk and Moon Knight. But the characters who were present in Avengers: Endgame will continue to deal with what happened in the film. Doctor Strange said the endgame was coming, but the truth is the consequences of the Infinity War are far from over.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos. The film is available on Digital HD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD.
