The Avengers are never, ever getting back together — at least, not in “Infinity War”

Obviously, the events of Captain America: Civil War cut a deep rift in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the film’s main — and largest —  fight sequence was more “rollicking good time with punches” than “friends turned foes.” The latter part of the film really made it clear that the consequences of the film are serious: after decimating Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit, Steve Rogers dropped his shield, broke his friends out of the Raft floating sea prison, and essentially became a fugitive.

However, there were signs it might not be permanent: Steve sent Tony a sincere letter in which he apologized for not telling Tony about the true circumstances of his parents’ death. He also promised that, should Tony and the remaining Avengers need Steve and co., they’d be there.

So, obviously, with Infinity War approaching, many fans thought that the threat of Thanos completing the Infinity Gauntlet would be the circumstance that would bring the Avengers back together.

Not so much, we’ve learned: according to The Independent, Civil War director (who’s also at the helm of Infinity War) Anthony Russo has spoken about how he and his brother Joe’s writing style means there won’t be an easy Avengers reunion:

“One of our favorite things about Civil War [was] that it ended in a difficult place where it’s hard to imagine what the road forward exactly is for both Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and these two sides that have suffered the consequences of this division,” He explained. “On a storytelling level, it is a very difficult place and yes, that is very much the condition of the world as we move forward after Civil War. This very much sets the stage for where Infinity War begins – it’s a place of a strong divide.”

“The divisions that happened at the end of Civil War were so deep they’re not the kind of things you can resolve or move through off camera; they’re the kind of things you have to directly deal with in the storytelling. That’s our philosophical approach to how we handle those things.”

Of course, there’s a chance that the two groups will fight together after trying unsuccessfully to fight separately — but that raises the stakes dramatically, especially when Thanos is concerned. A lot of fans are even guessing which characters will die, so maybe difficult loss will be what brings the estranged group back together.

We already know that the upcoming film will feature a ton of characters and that some Avengers characters will interact with our favorite interstellar misfits. Maybe it’s going to take the both Steve’s and Tony’s crews of former Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to beat the Mad Titan. We just hope our favorite characters emerge unscathed.