As we await further updates on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and its multiverse-melting sequel Secret Wars, Marvel fans are reminding themselves of the Avengers movie that we never got, even though we were certain it was happening for a while there. In the halcyon days of the tail-end of the Infinity Saga, MCU fever was at all-time high after Avengers: Infinity War, and for one long year, the internet furiously theorized what would happen in the grand finale that, as we know, turned out to be Avengers: Endgame.
For a hot minute there, however, Endgame went by a very different title, at least in the minds of those who paid attention to the latest scuttlebutt. Thanks to some widespread “leaks” that turned out to be way off the mark, Avengers 4 was widely known in the fandom as “Avengers: Annihilation” for a time, with a mocked-up title card often being thrown around online back in early 2019.
Twitter user @2TChalla2Stan recently hit us hard with the nostalgia by sharing the fake title, going viral by commenting: “If you don’t remember this then you’re too young to be in CBM Twitter.”
Annihilation wasn’t the only manufactured moniker for the movie going around, either, as the comics-accurate Infinity Gauntlet was another one.
Avengers: Forever and Avengers: Disassembled were also floated as potential contenders.
The title Annihilation was obviously cribbed from the comic book event of the same name, which sees the Avengers battling the cosmic villain Annihilus. So fans were briefly tying themselves in knots trying to figure out how Thanos would team up with Annihilus in Avengers 4.
For those who are older enough to remember this whole hooplah, the years are suddenly feeling heavy…
Somewhere out there in the multiverse, there’s an Earth where Avengers: Annihilus released in May 2019 and ended with a post-credits scene featuring Galactus and the Fantastic Four.
While Avengers: Annihilation never actually happened, the Avengers will return when The Kang Dynasty hits theaters on May 2, 2025.