Few superhero movies end with the villain triumphant, the hero dusted, and the audience staring at a screen in stunned silence. Avengers: Infinity War did exactly that in 2018, setting up a year of speculation before Endgame brought the story to a close.
Release date: April 27, 2018 (United States) ·
Runtime: 2 hours 29 minutes ·
Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo ·
Worldwide box office: $2.048 billion ·
Sequel: Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Quick snapshot
- Released April 27, 2018 (Marvel Studios)
- Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
- Runtime: 2 hours 29 minutes (IMDb)
- Thanos collects all six Infinity Stones (Marvel Studios)
- He snaps and halves all life (Wikipedia)
- The Avengers lose the fight (Marvel Studios)
Eight essential facts, one reference table.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Directors | Anthony and Joe Russo |
| Screenplay | Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely |
| Release date (U.S.) | April 27, 2018 |
| Runtime | 2 hours 29 minutes |
| Main villain | Thanos |
| Infinity Stones | Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind, Time |
| Worldwide box office | $2.048 billion |
| Followed by | Avengers: Endgame (2019) |
How did the Avengers defeat Thanos?
Why Infinity War ends with Thanos winning
At the end of Infinity War, Thanos has collected all six Infinity Stones — Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Mind, and Time (Marvel Studios). He snaps his fingers and erases half of all life from existence. The Avengers do not stop him in this film; the final shot shows a grieving Thor and a vanishing Bucky Barnes. The Russo brothers have explained that giving Thanos a victory was necessary to raise the emotional stakes for the finale.
The time heist and the second snap
- Surviving Avengers use time travel to retrieve the Stones from past timelines.
- Bruce Banner (as Hulk) wears the gauntlet and reverses the Snap, restoring everyone who was dusted.
- Tony Stark takes the Stones and snaps to kill Thanos and his army — a move that costs Tony his life.
The pattern: the resolution comes not from a single fight but from a coordinated plan that spans four acts and multiple characters (Disney+).
What Tony Stark’s sacrifice changes
Tony’s death in Endgame marks the end of the original Avengers era. Without Iron Man, the team loses its central strategist and financier. The implication: the Infinity Saga wraps up by removing the character who started the MCU in 2008.
The pattern: each step of the plan built on a different hero’s strength, making the defeat a team achievement despite the individual cost.
What superheroes are in Avengers: Infinity War?
Earth‑based Avengers and their allies
The film brings together nearly every active hero from the MCU’s first decade. Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Tom Holland (Spider‑Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), and Paul Bettany (Vision) all appear (Marvel Studios).
Guardians of the Galaxy
Chris Pratt (Star‑Lord), Zoe Saldaña (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Karen Gillan (Nebula), and Sean Gunn (Kraglin) join the fray, linking the cosmic side of the MCU with the Earth‑based heroes (Disney+).
Wakanda and the final battle
- Black Panther’s army, including Okoye, M’Baku, W’Kabi, and the Dora Milaje, defend Wakanda.
- Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, and the rest hold the line while Shuri works to remove the Mind Stone from Vision.
- Thanos arrives with the Black Order — Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Ebony Maw, and Cull Obsidian.
The catch: despite that massive alliance, Thanos still wins.
Who was the highest paid actor in Avengers: Infinity War?
Reported MCU salaries vs official disclosures
- Marvel has never published a line‑item salary list for Infinity War.
- Trade reports and legal filings suggest Robert Downey Jr. earned the most, with upfront pay plus backend compensation that could top $50 million for some MCU films.
- Variety and other outlets have reported that Downey commanded a base salary of around $20 million for Infinity War plus a share of the box office.
Who is the lowest‑paid Marvel actor?
No confirmed figure exists for Infinity War. Smaller‑role actors such as Okoye (Danai Gurira) or Wong (Benedict Wong) likely earned lower base rates, but exact numbers remain private. What this means: public discussion of actor pay in the MCU is mostly educated guesswork.
Who is the richest actor of Marvel?
Robert Downey Jr. is often cited as the wealthiest MCU star, with a net worth estimated at $300 million. But that figure includes earnings from Iron Man through Endgame plus his Sherlock Holmes roles. No official wealth ranking for Infinity War exists.
Who got paid $1 million per episode?
That figure typically refers to television casts, such as the Friends reunion or Game of Thrones stars, not to Infinity War film salaries.
Is the Avengers team still active?
Why the original line‑up is gone
- Iron Man dies in Endgame.
- Black Widow dies in Endgame (self‑sacrifice for the Soul Stone).
- Captain America retires as an old man after returning the Stones.
- Thor leaves Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
- Hulk’s arm is permanently injured from the snap.
- Hawkeye returns to his family.
Who continues as Captain America
Sam Wilson (the Falcon) takes up the shield and mantle in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), becoming the new Captain America (Disney+).
What the MCU has said about a new Avengers team
Marvel has not depicted a fully staffed new Avengers team in the post‑Endgame projects. The Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars films are expected to assemble a new roster, but as of 2025, no official lineup has been confirmed.
Which Avenger can’t be killed?
Comic‑book healing vs MCU limits
In the comics, the Hulk has a regenerative healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any injury, leading some fans to call him “unkillable.” But the MCU has not treated him as immortal. Hulk is severely injured by the snap in Endgame and limps through the rest of the film.
Why the Hulk is sometimes called unkillable
The moniker comes from Marvel comics lore, not from the films. No MCU character has demonstrated literal invincibility.
Death is still permanent in Infinity War
- Loki is killed by Thanos in the opening scene.
- Heimdall is killed moments later.
- Vision is killed twice (first by Thanos, then again when the Snap is reversed).
- Gamora is thrown to her death on Vormir.
The trade‑off: even heroes with extraordinary powers are mortal in this story.
Why did Chris Evans quit Marvel?
Chris Evans and the end of Cap’s story
Evans has said in interviews that he felt Captain America’s arc was complete after Endgame. The character, a man out of time, finally gets the dance he missed with Peggy Carter. Evans did not renew his contract beyond the Infinity War/Endgame two‑parter.
Why Scarlett Johansson stopped playing Black Widow
Johansson’s Black Widow died in Endgame — a narrative choice, not a departure. Her solo film Black Widow (2021) was a prequel set between Captain America: Civil War and Infinity War. Her public dispute with Disney in 2021 concerned the streaming release of that film, not her character’s on‑screen death.
Do Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. get along?
There is no credible public report of a feud between the two actors. Both have spoken warmly about each other in interviews and social media posts.
Infinity War vs. Endgame: key differences
The two films share directors but diverge in tone, length, and resolution.
| Category | Infinity War | Endgame |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | April 27, 2018 | April 26, 2019 |
| Runtime | 2h 29min | 3h 2min |
| Director | Russo brothers | Russo brothers |
| Main threat | Thanos (collecting Stones) | Thanos (from alternate timeline) |
| Ending | Thanos wins; half of life dusted | Avengers win; Tony dies; Cap retires |
| Tone | Urgent, hopeless | Grief, then hope, sacrifice |
| Worldwide box office | $2.048 billion | $2.799 billion |
Steps to understand how the Avengers turn defeat into victory
- Collect the Infinity Stones again: The surviving Avengers (Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, Ant‑Man, War Machine, Rocket, and Nebula) travel through time to retrieve the Stones from past events.
- Reverse the Snap: Bruce Banner, as the smart Hulk, wears the Nano Gauntlet and snaps, restoring everyone who was dusted.
- Finish the fight: Thanos attacks the Avengers compound. Tony Stark takes the Stones and snaps, killing Thanos and his army — but the energy destroys Tony himself.
Timeline of key events
- – Avengers: Infinity War is released in U.S. theaters (Marvel Studios).
- – Marvel announces the sequel title: Avengers: Endgame (Wikipedia).
- – Avengers: Endgame is released, resolving the Thanos storyline (Disney+).
What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear
Confirmed facts
- Thanos collects all six Infinity Stones and snaps at the end of Infinity War. (Marvel Studios)
- The Avengers defeat Thanos in Endgame after Tony Stark uses the Stones to snap Thanos and his army. (Disney+)
- Infinity War was released on April 27, 2018 in the United States. (Marvel Studios)
- Chris Evans’ Captain America does not return as an active hero after Endgame. (Wikipedia)
What’s unclear
- Exact actor salaries and net worth figures for the Infinity War cast are not officially disclosed.
- The in‑universe status of a formal, current Avengers team is not clearly defined in the MCU.
- Whether Scarlett Johansson has permanently left the MCU has not been explicitly announced by Marvel.
Quotes from the cast and creators
“The cast reflects heroes who had not previously shared the screen and others who had years of MCU continuity behind them.”
Marvel Studios (Marvel.com)
“Avengers: Infinity War is a 2018 Marvel Studios title available on Disney+.”
Disney+ (Disney+)
Summary: what the Infinity War legacy means for the MCU
Infinity War was the moment the Marvel Cinematic Universe chose a different path: let the villain win, then spend an entire second movie digging out of that loss. For the original Avengers, the cost was permanent. For Marvel Studios, it reset the audience’s expectations — a move that bought them creative freedom in the subsequent phases. For fans of the team, the implication is clear: Tony Stark is gone, Chris Evans’ Captain America has retired, and a new Avengers team will need to earn the name all over again.
marvel.com, rottentomatoes.com, movies.disney.com, imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, simple.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
Frequently asked questions
When was Avengers: Infinity War released?
Avengers: Infinity War was released on April 27, 2018 in the United States (Marvel Studios).
Is Avengers: Infinity War 2 the same as Avengers: Endgame?
Yes, the sequel to Infinity War is titled Avengers: Endgame. It was released on April 26, 2019.
Who directed Avengers: Infinity War?
Anthony and Joe Russo directed both Infinity War and Endgame.
Where can I watch Avengers: Infinity War?
Avengers: Infinity War is available to stream on Disney+ (Disney+).
How long is Avengers: Infinity War?
The runtime is 2 hours and 29 minutes (IMDb).
What are the six Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War?
The six Stones are Space (blue), Reality (red), Power (purple), Soul (orange), Mind (yellow), and Time (green).
Editor’s note: This article was written by the National Report editorial team using publicly available information from Marvel Studios, IMDb, Wikipedia, and other cited sources. Actor salary figures are based on trade reports and are not official payroll data.
Arthur Oliver Howard Fletcher is a staff writer for NationalReport.uk, covering UK national news, politics, the economy and public services. He works under Editor-in-Chief Andreas Christodoulou and UK Managing Editor Rebecca Morgan, following the newsroom standards for sourcing, verification and fact-checking set out in our editorial policies.