Credit: Marvel StudiosHere’s something we thought we’d never say: all six original Avengers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are returning for a new project.
It’s been over a decade since we first saw our OG Avengers lineup onscreen. Back in 2012, The Avengers united Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), and Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye) for their first of many onscreen battles.
While it isn’t the first film in the Infinity Saga, The Avengers kicked off a cinematic arc that ultimately wrapped up with Avengers: Endgame (2019) seven years later – a film that also marked the official end of the inaugural team. Downey Jr. exited the franchise after Iron Man met his fate defeating Thanos, while Evans bowed out after his character decided to grow old and pass on the shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie).
Meanwhile, Johansson also left the MCU after Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone. Unlike her fellow departing actors, however, she did subsequently return for one more installment – the standalone Black Widow (2021) that introduced her adopted sister, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh).
With three characters officially dead and gone, the odds of seeing this Avengers lineup onscreen again seemed incredibly slim (despite endless rumors of Downey Jr. reprising his role as an alternate Iron Man and the theory that Evans will portray Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) when it releases later this month.
However, it’s now been confirmed that four actors are once again reprising their roles for a new project.
Well, kind of.
Disney has released a new featurette spotlighting its newest effort: a dubbed version of The Avengers, recorded in Lakota – a language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes that was declared “critically endangered” in 2023. This is already a pretty exciting project, but what makes it even more special is that four of the OG Avengers have reprised their roles to dub their characters’ parts in Lakota.
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo all voiced their lines in Lakota for the film, which reportedly took 15 months to perfect.
It was Ruffalo himself who pushed for the film, having previously produced the 2022 documentary Lakota Nation Vs. United States, which covered the Lakota people’s fight to reclaim control of the Black Hills after the U.S. government seized the sacred land in 1876. This also led to the government trying to suppress or ban the Lakota language.
A lineup of 62 Lakota actors also voiced other parts in the film, which is available to watch on Disney+ now.
It may not be the onscreen reunion some fans want, but it’s still fascinating to hear the original actors reprise their roles in another language. It’s also interesting to see the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into polishing such a challenging project.
Would you like to see the original Avengers reunite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe