Marvel Cinematic Universe: 10 Twists No One Will See Coming
5. Bucky Will Head Up The New Avengers
The Avengers is already divided following Civil War's disassembly work, so it isn't a stretch to picture the titular team being divided into two in the long run.
Steve Rogers is off leading a ragtag group in the shadows, while Tony Stark appears to have a more formal Avengers still up and running in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Presumably these two teams will come together to battle Thanos during the Infinity War, but that places a mind-numbing amount of characters in one place.
Avengers membership will be through the roof, so don't be surprised to see the group split into separate standalone teams with their own movies going forward.
There have been multiple Avengers offshoots in the comic books, one being The New Avengers, and they could be headed up by an unlikely candidate in the MCU.
Bucky Barnes is almost certain to take on the Captain America mantel. He does just that in the comics and actor Sebastian Stan has a long-term contract with Marvel.
The other credible candidate to wield the shield, Sam Wilson's Falcon, is reportedly contracted for just two more films, likely to be Avengers 3 and 4.
The small matter of Bucky's mind programming courtesy of Hydra must still be resolved - presumably Black Panther will come up with something just in time for Infinity War - after which, he'll be ready to step into Rogers's boots and lead a team of heroes to complete his redemption.