With the release of Avengers: Endgame rapidly approaching, speculation is rife about what surprises are in store. Jenna Guillaume looks at some of the most interesting theories making the rounds.
Avengers: Endgame is almost here, and that means we’ll finally get an answer to how exactly our fave Marvel superheroes are going to defeat Thanos – and bring back their fallen friends. That they will is undisputed, but there are a lot of theories out there concerning how it’ll happen. Not to mention what the ultimate fates of some of the original Avengers, who are likely departing the franchise after Endgame, will be.
Here are some of the most interesting, exciting and occasionally worrying theories out there…
Time travel will play a big part
In the mid-credits scene of Antman and the Wasp, Janet van Dyne mentions “time vortexes” in the Quantam Realm, which was very obviously setting up for something to happen with them in Avengers: Endgame. The new suits the crew are seen wearing in the trailer – which are similar to Scott Lang’s Antman suit – all but confirmed this.
It seems the team will use time vortexes in the Quantam Realm to travel back to key moments we’ve already seen in the MCU. To do what remains unclear – will they change the timeline? Plant things, or take things out of it (like Infinity Stones!) in order to prevent Thanos from ever snapping in the first place? It could have huge implications for everything we know about the universe.
The multi-verse will be a factor
There are a couple of theories around the idea of parallel universes in the MCU. One is that, through the Quantum Realm, the characters won’t time travel but will instead go to a parallel universe and retrieve another version of the Infinity Gauntlet in order to defeat Thanos. The other theory posits that when Thanos snapped, he didn’t wipe out half the universe, but created another one and sent all the “dead” characters there. To be honest, I don’t think either of these scenarios are super likely – but they sure would be interesting.
Loki isn’t really dead
A lot of fans love Loki and don’t want to accept his death. We know Tom Hiddleston will be starring in a Loki TV series, and while it could certainly take place before the events of Infinity War, it does suggest he might actually come back to life – or reveal he never really died in the first place.
Loki has faked his own death in the past, after all, so it’s not unreasonable to think he might have done it again. Another option is that while he did die in Infinity War, the Avengers’ time travel will change events so that he doesn’t die the second time around. Or hey, if the parallel universe thing pans out, Loki could come back into the plot in that way. One thing is for sure: there’s more Loki content in the future.
Steve Rogers and/or Tony Stark will sacrifice themselves
Since Captain America: Civil War – and probably even before that – the MCU has been defined by the relationship between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. They’re the two leaders of the Avengers, and things only really went to hell when their friendship disintegrated.
I mean, they spent the entirety of Avengers: Infinity War apart, and look how well that ended. There’s no doubt a central plot in Avengers: Endgame will be about the two of them coming together to resolve their differences, and that’s what will help them defeat Thanos. A lot of fans are speculating that one of them will sacrifice himself for the other – in most scenarios, Steve will sacrifice himself for Tony – and some even think they’ll both die to save the universe. Oh no!
Nebula will kill Thanos
Nebula was raised (and routinely abused) by Thanos. She has the most personal stake in the fight against him, especially after he’s sacrificed her sister, Gamora. Some fans think the only satisfying death for Thanos would be at Nebula’s hands. Which makes sense for her character arc, but doesn’t entirely work for the wider Avengers story. No offense to Nebula, but she’s not a character we’ve spent 10-11 years invested in or caring for.
Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter will finally get their dance
The idea of time travel, combined with Peggy’s presence looming large over the Avengers: Endgame trailers, has a lot of fans excited that we’ll get more closure around Steve and Peggy’s relationship. Perhaps Steve will somehow find a way to stay in the past with Peggy? Or maybe, at the very least, they’ll get their dance before he dies? Or perhaps even after he dies? If it doesn’t happen it will probably disappoint a lot of people (and by a lot of people I mean ME).
One of the Avengers will wield the Infinity Gauntlet
A popular idea is that one of the Avengers – most likely Tony, but perhaps Carol Danvers – will use the Infinity Gauntlet to reverse Thanos’ snap. They could build their own gauntlet or retrieve Thanos’ in some way, but if this is the direction the movie goes in, there’s no doubt it’s going to require great sacrifice from the team in order to achieve it. Remember how Thanos got the soul stone?! Someone hold me.
