When should the Guardians Of The Galaxy team up with The Avengers?

Marvel Studios has gotten fans hooked on the drug known as crossovers. Even beyond Avengers movies, there is a heightened clamoring for more cameos, like Falcon’s presence in Ant-Man, as fans are hungry to see as much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as possible in each story. This hunger will certainly be partially satiated next year with the arrival of Captain America: Civil War, but the white whale that remains floating out in the MCU is a meet-up between the Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers. But when should this happen?

Fans have speculated about all kinds of possibilities in this area, but there’s a pretty firm dividing line for when the Guardians/Avengers introductions should happen: either before/during The Avengers: Infinity War, or not until long after. More patient Marvel fans have made an argument for waiting and letting the likes of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket further explore the cosmic side of the MCU. At the same time, others don’t want to see more of Thanos without seeing more of the space-traversing Guardians, and don’t want them to be left out of the big party coming in four years. This debate will continue until even after the crossover has happened, with fans deciding whether or not the chosen time was the right one.