How Much Avengers: Infinity War Will Expand The MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been preparing for Thanos' reign of terror since The Mad Titan cameoed at the end of The Avengers. Of course, while most of the MCU's action takes place on Earth, plenty of other worlds and dimensions have been introduced over the years, like in the Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy movies. So it was to be expected that Thanos would pose a threat to the entire cosmos, and sure enough, many new worlds will be introduced during Avengers: Infinity War next year. Here's what production designer Charles Wood had to say on the matter:

Any time you turn that page on this script, you're kind of staggered, blown away, terrified by what's in front of you. I think rather like Doctor Strange, you'll find this film, it's not regurgitative, yeah? What I'm trying to say, is, there are many, many, many new worlds to see in this film.

During an interview with Comicbook.com, Charles Wood alluded to all the environments that Avengers: Infinity War will feature. Wood didn't go into detail about what these other worlds will be, but this update does confirm that Avengers: Infinity War's action won't be limited to Earth. Since Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 are shooting back-to-back, perhaps that means that the latter movie will also have action based elsewhere in the cosmos.

When the MCU began in 2008, it was a universe grounded on solely on weird stuff happening around Earth, but Thor paved the way for extraterrestrial life via the Nine Realms. Guardians of the Galaxy was later set almost entirely out in other areas of the galaxy, while Ant-Man and Doctor Strange threw alternate dimensions into the mix. Those of you who have read The Infinity Gauntlet, the comic book source material Infinity War is inspired by, know that there was a lot of action that took place in outer space, so naturally the MCU would want to follow a similar path with its tale of Thanos fighting most of the Marvel superheroes.

Aside from what these new worlds are, the big question about Charles Wood's revelation is how they'll factor into Avengers: Infinity War. Will the Avengers venture off Earth to fight Thanos? Will we simply see Thanos wreak havoc on other worlds before he comes to Earth? Will these worlds be regular planets, or will we also see more of those freaky dimensions that sorcerers and select others can access? Presumably we'll receive answers to some of these questions as the year progresses, but with the MCU's Phase Three ending in 2019, Phase Four will have a lot more destinations to pick from.

Avengers: Infinity War will be released in theaters on May 4, 2018.