Could this new cast photo hint at some crucial Avengers 4 plot points?

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Now adding to that evidence? A simple snapshot posted by Karen Gillan (who plays Guardians of the Galaxy’s Nebula) of a dinner attended by some of the cast, but which could shed interesting new light on the Avengers 4 story.

As noted, at the moment Avengers 4 is going through some reshoots, so it stands to reason that the “Marvel gang” Gillan is referring to relates to whoever is currently doing work on that project (notably, most of her Guardians co-stars aren’t joining them), especially considering the presence of Avengers 4 co-director Joe Russo (far right) and Marvel Studios head and mastermind Kevin Feige (centre, in black baseball cap).

Also joining Gillan (among others) at the meal are Infinity War survivors Chris Evans (Captain America), Don Cheadle (War Machine) and Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow) – but more intriguing is the presence of Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi (centre, with the bolo tie), which already has fans speculating that Ragnarok’s breakout rock-monster character Korg (a motion-capture and voice performance from Waititi) will be making a return.

Of course, we never saw Korg or Ragnarok co-star Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) come under fire when Thanos was attacking Thor’s ship at the beginning of Infinity War, leading many fans to believe the two fan-favourite heroes might have escaped.

Plus, Kevin Feige has previously hinted that Marvel “have plans for Korg and [fellow alien] Miek” – so could it be that those plans are finally being realised, perhaps by bringing the soft-spoken ex-gladiator to the Avengers' aid?

Whatever the truth, Waititi’s surprise appearance certainly raises some interesting questions – and he’s not the only member of this party to do so.

Not sure what we mean? Well, just take a look at Guardians of the Galaxy’s Pom Klementieff (centre), whose character Mantis was one of Thanos’ victims in the last film, making her presence at the dinner a bit of a surprise. Could this hint at a possible resurrection for her character?

Well, possibly not – Klementieff and Gillan are friends, so it might just be that she joined the fun – but it certainly has us wondering, especially when almost everyone else at the meal is fairly directly involved in Avengers 4’s production.

And that's also why it’s so interesting to see Marisa Tomei, who plays Aunt May to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man, as part of Gillan’s “Marvel gang”. Tomei didn’t appear in Infinity War (in fact, the last we saw of her was when she discovered her nephew in his Spider-Man suit at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming), but her presence here might suggest she’ll be part of Avengers 4.

Given that the most heartrending moment of the previous film saw Spider-Man tearfully perishing in the arms of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), it could be that any appearance she does have would tug at audiences’ heartstrings even more – assuming she doesn’t end up looking for justice from Tony and the Avengers who put her beloved nephew in danger.

Anyway, as with the resurrection of Mantis and grand return of Korg this is all speculation at the moment, but it’s definitely exciting to get these sort of hints to what Avengers 4 has in store for us. Fingers crossed it’s not just Thanos stretching out for another deadly finger snap…

Avengers 4 will be released in UK cinemas in April 2019