By Joel Bentley
The countdown is on! Avengers: Infinity War hit cinemas last April and left fans immediately asking questions! The shock ending gave us so much to think about and the internet went crazy with theories on what could happen in Avengers: Endgame. So I have compiled a list of 5 theories.
So strap yourself in and prepare for possible spoilers for Endgame! I have also given each theory a score out 10, based on which ones I think are most likely. Feel free to post your own theories in the comments!
1. Loki faked his death (again!)
“Infinity War” opens with the shocking death of one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most popular characters, Loki, at the hands of Thanos. After Thanos retrieves the Space Stone, Loki attempts to stab him in the throat. Thanos stops Loki and chokes him to death. But a popular theory proposes that Loki, who has faked his death before, didn’t actually die.
A Reddit thread theorizes that the Loki we see die is actually an illusion because he used his left hand to try to stab Thanos even though he was right-handed. The theory argues that the only other time Loki used his left hand had been when he faked his death, such as in “Thor: The Dark World.”
It’s an intriguing theory, and after rewatching “Infinity War” on Blu-ray, I find it more plausible. When Loki hands Thanos the Space Stone, he uses his right hand. Then the Hulk appears, and a few minutes pass between that moment and when we see Loki again. It’s possible that Loki could have vanished and projected an illusion in his place in that time, and he has shown an ability to cast illusions from far away.
But the more I think about it, he is really dead this time, Thanos did actually say this to Thor! So I’m going to give the likelihood of this a 3/10.
2.Gamora is in the Soul Stone
The “Infinity War” directors Joe and Anthony Russo have implied that when Thanos killed Gamora, his adopted daughter, her soul entered the Soul Stone. When Thanos snaps his fingers to eliminate half of humanity, he wakes up in a dream-like place the Russos have said emulates being inside the Soul Stone. It’s here that he talks to a younger version of Gamora, who asks him what it “cost.” He replies, “Everything.”
The Russos’ comments shouldn’t be taken literally (plus, the comments were taken from a Reddit thread based on a high-school visit where the directors reportedly took questions from students). I read it more as her being in the Soul Stone metaphorically and Thanos waking up inside it as a visual representation of his thoughts and fears after the snap. The “Infinity War” visual-effects supervisor feels the same way and said in an interview that it was “open to interpretation.”
“It just seems like an internal moment of reflection,” Kelly Port told CNET earlier this year. “It’s this really nice dramatic pause at basically the culmination of 10 years of storytelling, right? It’s this moment where he can just have this moment to internally reflect on what he’s done and the cost of that decision.”
If true, though, the theory may even account for where other characters went after the Thanos snap. If Gamora is in the Soul Stone, maybe half of humanity is as well.
I’m giving this theory an 8/10. It makes sense!
3.Captain America will die
The Soul Stone demands a sacrificial victim and it’s going to be Captain America – with Steve choosing death so that someone else (probably Tony) can wield the Infinity Gauntlet and save half the world.
Chris Evans has already pretty much confirmed that he’s done with the MCU, celebrating his last day on set with a permanent sounding farewell tweet. His contract is up after Avengers Endgame, and it doesn’t sound like he’s signed on for any more movies (yet), so everything seems to be pointing at his permanent exit in the next film. Having Captain America bow out with a humanity saving act of self-sacrifice is pretty much the only way Marvel can kill him off, so this one seems to be on the cards. Whether or not it’s Tony that he does it for though, is not so certain…
I think this has a likelihood of 9/10.
4. Thanos forgets about his Gauntlet and Nebula nicks it
Thanos defeats the remaining superheroes, woos Death, beats Eternity itself and becomes an omnipotent part of the fabric of the space-time continuum. Unfortunately for him, he forgets that his mortal husk is still wearing the Infinity Gauntlet back on Earth, and Nebula comes along and takes it, using it to become more powerful than he is.
Weird as it sounds, this is exactly how it goes down in the comics. Whilst Nebula will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in the film (she’s one of only two surviving Guardians), this set-up would likely require a lot more than one film to cover and resolve. Also, Thanos’ motivation in the MCU is already very different from the comics. As we already saw at the end of Infinity War, he seems more content with sitting back and watching the sunset than he does with going on another purge.
Likelihood? 1/10
5. Loki has been pretending to be Bruce Banner the whole time
Not only was Loki “projecting” during the Thanos fight, he was pretending to be Bruce Banner the whole time. That’s why Banner acts weird for the whole film, that’s why the Hulk doesn’t come out, and that’s why Heimdell sends him straight to Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum.
Loki could well be alive (see above), but he’s definitely not Banner. Where’s the real Banner? Why isn’t Loki acting much, much weirder in a different body? Also, this is a twist that would cause the entire world to face palm and start laughing, which isn’t what anybody wants. A definite 0/10
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