It was recently revealed that there could be as many as 67 (yes, sixty-seven) major characters appearing across the two upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movies in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Of course, that kind of information gets people talking and speculating in their droves – specifically about which characters that veritable army might include.

The obvious assumptions are the Avengers themselves, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Adam Warlock, Thanos and Loki, while other assumptions include the likes of a returning Red Skull, the Defenders, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Asgardian supporting characters from the Thor movies.

But could there be some surprises in there? The obvious answer is “yes” and we’re going to contemplate some of the more “out there” characters who could potentially appear in the Avengers: Infinity War movies…

 

The Black Order

The Black Order is a group of ruthless aliens that work for Thanos in the Marvel comic books. Given that he has always had flunkies working for him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date, there’s a good chance that they might accompany him when it comes to his big appearance in the Avengers: Infinity War movies.

Their ranks include Black Dwarf, Corvus Glaive, Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight and Supergiant and, in the comic books, they have done things like search for the Infinity Gems for Thanos – could they do the same with the MCU Infinity Stones?

If indeed the Black Order does appear, it will give the heroes even more to think about – as if they wouldn’t have enough on their plates – but they would be pretty cool to see as they’re all very interesting and powerful characters who’d undoubtedly look awesome in live action.

The Illuminati

The Illuminati are a group of elite, powerful superheroes in Marvel comic books who joined forces to work behind the scenes to foresee and apprehend major universal threats – and there’s no more major a threat to the universe than Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet.

With that in mind, could the Illuminati make themselves known in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Avengers: Infinity War movies? Surely it’s possible and plausible that they could?

Of course, some members of the Illuminati from the comic books already exist in the MCU – the likes of Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, Captain America and Black Panther, for example – but their emergence in the franchise could reveal some new characters, like Namor and/or Captain Britain. That would be cool.

The Cabal

Given that the entire universe will be under threat from Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War movies, it won’t necessarily just be the heroes of the franchise who want to stand against him – it’s not as if villains want to die, after all.

With that in mind, the villainous and anti-heroic counterparts to the Illuminati may make their presence felt – there’s at least a small chance, surely – and that would be very interesting.

Villains are just as intelligent as heroes and there may be a collection of them who have anticipated the Mad Titan’s attack on the universe, which could bring a bunch of existing bad guys together, as well as some potential new ones. Who wouldn’t want to see the likes of Doctor Doom, Norman Osborn, Taskmaster, Maximus the Mad and/or Terrax working together to foil Thanos? It would be awesome!

Howard The Duck

Howard the Duck has, of course, appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe already, in the post-credits scene of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy (voiced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Seth Green).

However, most people think it was nothing more than a fun cameo and believe he will never be seen again – but what if Marvel Studios had bigger plans for the anthropomorphic space duck?

While Howard isn’t scheduled to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, what if he is part of the massive army of heroes who faces off against Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War movies? The heroes of the MCU could use all the help they can get against the Mad Titan and a wildcard like Howard – complete with his Quack-Fu skills – would be a welcome asset in the fight.

Cancerverse Characters

For a while now, there have been unconfirmed rumours that Thanos might utilise an army of evil doppelgangers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s heroes in the Avengers: Infinity War movies. While that seems unlikely, putting two and two together based on an Easter egg in Thor: The Dark World does make it seem plausible.

When Erik Selvig was scrawling on a chalkboard, what he’d written made reference to a number of characters and concepts from the Marvel comic books – one of those things was the Fault.

The Fault is a rip in space that leads to the Cancerverse in the comic books. What if Thanos used his reality-warping powers to make the characters from the Cancerverse spill into the MCU? It would be awesome seeing the likes of Hulk fighting evil Hulk and Thor fighting evil Thor! It would also help to bump the character list up to sixty-seven!

Fantastic Four

The sequel to Fox's awful 2015 Fantastic Four reboot has all but been been cancelled, which wasn’t a surprise to anybody (seriously, it was absolutely horrensdous). This has potentially opened the doors for Marvel Studios to make a move to obtain the rights to Marvel's First Family - and that would be a good thing, considering how bad Fox’s attempts have been.

With that in mind, the original superhero team could well appear in the MCU in the future - and they’d make great additions to the Avengers: Infinity War movies!

The superpowers possessed by the quartet would be welcomed by the MCU’s existing heroes, but the biggest asset they would provide is the brain of Reed Richards. Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm would all bring something to the fight, but Reed's inventions and intelligence are of a  level that could genuinely be a threat Thanos – even with the Infinity Gauntlet. It would be great to see them coming home.

The Silver Surfer

If the Fantastic Four become available to Marvel Studios, the team’s supporting characters should become available to Marvel Studios as well – and that would mean the Silver Surfer could potentially head to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And what better time for him to join the MCU than when the Avengers: Infinity War movies are released? The Surfer would be a very powerful ally for the existing heroes in the MCU and could aid them in the fight against the Mad Titan Thanos.

More to the point, he was a key character in the Infinity Gauntlet comic book arc and, therefore, it makes sense for him to appear in what is sure to be a loose depiction of that story on the big screen. Fox’s loss would definitely be Marvel Studios’ gain in this case.

Wolverine

With Hugh Jackman’s stint as Wolverine in Fox’s X-Men franchise coming to an end in the next year or two, could Marvel Studios pull off the kind of deal they did with Spider-Man and Sony Pictures to bring the X-Men star over the the Marvel Cinematic Universe? It’s certainly a possibility!

Wolverine is one of Marvel’s flagship characters, so it’s only right that he joins the likes of Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man and Captain America in their flagship movie franchise.

The character had a prominent role in the Infinity Gauntlet comic book arc – in which, for example, Thanos turned his skeleton to mush using the Infinity Gems – and he could have a major part in the Avengers: Infinity War movies, if given the opportunity. Tom Hardy, anyone?

Dead MCU Characters

A lot of characters – mostly villains, which is appropriate in this instance – have died in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. However, given the reality-warping power that Thanos will be wielding in the Avengers: Infinity War movies, could the Mad Titan bring them back to fight in his corner?

Some of the dead villains are quite personal to the heroes of the MCU – Obadiah Stane was Tony Stark’s mentor, Kurse killed Thor’s mother, Ronan killed Drax’s family etc – so raising them from the dead could give Thanos a psychological advantage over them (while a zombie Quicksilver would also traumatise Scarlet Witch significantly and Ultron might turn out to be part of Thanos’ plan after all).

Dead never truly means dead in the world of comic book movies, so don’t be surprised to see several deceased characters returning in the biggest event in the MCU.

Dormammu

Once the Infinity War is over and Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe starts to draw to a close, a new “big-bad” for the franchise will need to emerge in time for Phase Four. It will take a powerful character to succeed Thanos in that role – and there’s nobody better to fill it than Dormammu.

Once Dormammu sees that Thanos is out of the way and the world seems to be at peace, he may see fit to make his move to take it over himself.

The Doctor Strange villain is more than powerful enough to pose a threat to the Avengers and all of their allies on his own and there’s every chance that he could be the character to appear in the mid/post-credits scenes of the second Avengers: Infinity War movie.

What do you think? Could any of these potential surprise characters make up the numbers in the Avengers: Infinity War movies? Which other surprise characters might appear? Have your say below!