Photos: All the key players in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

Avengers: Infinity War, the culmination of a decade’s worth of Marvel superheroes, is set to hit the screen on April 27. The trailer has generated a lot of buzz and seems to feature nearly every superhero introduced in the 18 Marvel films since 2008. There’s Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Mark Ruffalo’s The Hulk and many other ancillary characters from the Marvel cinematic universe. As if this wasn’t enough, the intergalactic superhero team, Guardians of the Galaxy, joins forces with the Avengers.

Their combined aim is to stop Thanos (Josh Brolin) from his mission to obtain the Infinity Stones and destroy life throughout the galaxy. “We’ve got one advantage,” say one of the Avengers in the trailer. “He’s coming to us.”

With so many heroes trying to collaborate, a clash of egos is expected. The trailer offers a glimpse of that when Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) of the Guardians of Galaxy tells Iron Man: “Let’s talk about this plan of yours. I think its good, except it sucks. So, let me do the plan and in that way, it might be really good.”

A stunned Tony Stark responds, “Wow”.

Twitter exploded with memes and jokes when the trailer for the film came out, announcing the mash-up of all of Marvel’s heroes.

The Russo brothers’ Avengers: Infinity War will pick up from where Captain America: Civil War (2016) left off: with the crime-fighting super team torn apart.

Chris Evans has hinted that his character, Captain America might still be the leader of the pack in this film. But Evans’ time as Marvel’s first Avenger may be drawing to a close. The actor indicated that the the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War scheduled to be released next year, may be his last appearance as the superhero.

“Well, you know, my contract is over, so that’s as far as I know,” Evans told ET. “[I’ll miss] everything [about Captain America]. I mean, it’s not just the character, it’s the people – the experience, such good movies, such wonderful memories. I’ll miss a lot.”

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) will most likely team up with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise to find a new weapon to stop Thanos.

The jury is still out on whose side Loki is on in Infinity War: the Avengers or Thanos.

Fans of Black Panther have a chance to go back to Wakanda in this film. T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his team join the Avengers in the fight against Thanos. In the latest promo, T’Challa can be seen saying, “Today we don’t fight for one life, we fight for all of them.” Marvel also seems to be cashing in on the wide success of the Black Panther (2018) movie in Avengers: Infinity War.

Spiderman is set to officially become an Avenger in this film. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) dons his suit, possibly the one he turned down at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) to join the forces against Thanos.

One notable exclusion from the trailers and other publicity material for Avengers: Infinity War is Jeremy Renner’s Hawk Eye. His absence generated a lot of speculation and disappointment, with fans taking it upon themselves to photoshop him into the movie posters. Director-duo Anthony and Joseph Russo joined in the fun by making one such poster their Facebook cover image. This was also interpreted as a sign that the archer may not be left out of the film after all.