Avengers: Infinity War is set to kickstart the end of the first ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When Thanos comes a-knocking to collect all six Infinity Stones, you can bet the ensuing battle between the Mad Titan and the assembled heroes of the galaxy will result in some cataclysmic changes to the franchise. It’s sure to alter the face of the Marvel movie landscape, though it’s likely to be so significant that the MCU TV shows will be left to pick up the pieces, as well.
It looks like this will be a big job, however, as Infinity War‘s screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have said that they don’t envy Marvel Television’s scribes having to deal with the consequences of the event movie. They obviously wouldn’t be drawn on details, but whatever happens will apparently have a major “ripple effect” that will be felt throughout the MCU.
Markus: I don’t envy them when this movie comes out for one thing, because the…
McFeely: Ripple effect.
Markus: Consequences and they’re, wow!
When we talk about the TV side of things having to deal with the consequences of Infinity War, that mostly means Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., which has been picking up the pieces of the big tentpoles of the MCU since its first season featured the reveal that HYDRA was secretly running S.H.I.E.L.D. (following on from Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen have also outright confirmed that they plan to explore the aftermath of Infinity War.
Depending on how wide-ranging the consequences of the aforementioned film are – and we expect them to be massive – the usually more independent Netflix side of the MCU could feel the ripple effect, too. For instance, Jessica Jones season 2 referenced the Raft and the outcome of the Sokovia Accords introduced in Captain America: Civil War. Daredevil season 1, meanwhile, explored how devastated New York was after the Chitauri Invasion in The Avengers. In other words, if Thanos’ forces leave the Big Apple in another mess, you can bet that it’ll alter the Netflix shows, as well.
We’ll discover for ourselves just how massive the consequences of Avengers: Infinity War are when it arrives in theaters later this week, on April 27th.