We still have over a year and a half until we get the third Avengers films in theaters. As  a matter of fact, we have exactly until May 4, 2018 for the release of Infinity War, in which we will see the character of Thanos, first teased in the original Avengers in 2012 and later appearing in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, in full mode as the villain.

So what do we know so far about Avengers: Infinity War?

• Joe and Anthony Russo, who directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, will be taking over for Joss Whedon to direct this installment.
• Winter Soldier and Civil War scripters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have written the script for the film.
• Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner are expected to return to their signature roles of Steve Rogers, Tony “Iron Man” Stark, Bruce “The Hulk” Banner, Thor, Natasha “Blak Widow” Romanoff, and Clint “Hawkeye” Burton.
• Elizabeth Olsen will return as Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff.
• Through motion capture and voice work, Josh Brolin will play Thanos.
• Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, told the Hollywood Reporter that Black Panther, due for release on February 16, 2018, will set up the events for the film, pretty much confirming that Chadwick Boseman will appear as the King of Wakanda in the film. Yet we still wait on the official word about BP’s appearance.
• Variety reported in August that via a Facebook live video, Vin Diesel confirmed that The Guardians of the Galaxy will appear in Avengers: Infinity War.
• Screen Rant had confirmed that in an interview with Empire Magazine, Benedict Cumberbatch confirmed that his Marvel character of Doctor Strange will appear in the film.

There is still official word awaiting to see if the following will appear in the film:

• Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man)
• Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man)
• Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp)
• Paul Bettany (The Vision)
• Don Cheadle (Lt. Jim Rhodes/War Machine)
• Brie Larson (Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel)

Rumors were going around that The Defenders (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist) could appear and considering Marvel’s recent split between films and television, it looks unlikely but never say never.

Samuel L. Jackson recently spoke to Screen Rant about possibly returning to his signature role of Nick Fury now that it looks like S.H.I.E.L.D. is being re-established via the TV series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  There is no confirmation on the return of Fury as of yet.

While we wait to see who will appear in the first of the two-part Avengers epic, look out for these next Marvel films:

• Doctor Strange on November 4, 2016
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on May 5, 2017
• Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 7, 2017
• Thor: Ragnarok on November 3, 2017
• Black Panther on February 16, 2018

These will all lead up to Avengers: Infinity War on May 4, 2018 from Marvel Studios.