Will 'The Avengers 3' Be Split Into Two Movies?

Will the Avengers fight against Thanos be too big to contain in a single movie? According to a report by The Daily Marvelite, the epic battle that's set to close out Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be split over two movies. The report notes that it's unclear whether The Avengers 3 itself will be a two-parter or if the story that begins in The Avengers 3 will be resolved in another yet untitled movie.

Marvel Studios is already expected to release The Avengers 3 (which may be called Avengers: Infinity) on May 5, 2018. The three-year gap between Avengers: Age of Ultron and this installment would be the same span between The Avengers and Age of Ultron. The studio has also claimed May 3, 2019. The Daily Marvelite suspects that this will be when Marvel released the second part of the Thanos two-parter.

So how would this split work? Would we see the Avengers (or whatever Avengers lineup we're left with after the events of Age of Ultron) fail to beat Thanos? Would the Guardians of the Galaxy (and Doctor Strange or the Inhumans) join in the fight in the second movie? What happens to those dates Marvel has called dibs on in the year between? Are there movies in July and November 2018 that are just stuck treading water?

Splitting the finale of a franchise has become quite popular over the past few years. Warner Bros. did this previously with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In that case, there was just too much story to fit in one movie. The Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games and Divergent have all followed in Harry Potter's footsteps, most likely to cash in on an extra movie instead of making the movie for storytelling purposes.