MAJOR SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (BUT YOU KNEW THAT ANYWAY)

It’s been a few weeks now since Infinity War came out and pocketed all the money in cinema. So, naturally, speculation has already begun on the hotly anticipated Avengers 4, which will undoubtedly be the biggest movie of 2019 (screw you, Episode 9). Here are some of the things I theorise could happen in the aftermath of that jaw-dropping click that disintegrated half the Universe in Infinity War. Enjoy, and remember, you’re not the only one cursed with SPOILERS. This theories article is full of them.

Note: all my theories act separately in this article, although there’s every chance that any number of them could be part of the final film. That number will probably be zero, but still, it’s fun to speculate.

1. THE SOUL REALM

This theory has been very widely circulated recently, and I’ve done a brief but detailed summary of it, which you can find using this link. The gist of it though is that those who were disintegrated by the click, along with Gamora are contained within the Soul Realm, or within the Soul Stone. This was a concept featured within the Infinity Gauntlet comics, where Adam Warlock and Gamora, among others, entered ‘Soul World’. I believe that Gamora is almost certainly within this orangey realm, as was indicated in the brief scene between her (as a child) and Thanos straight after he clicks his fingers, however I don’t think it’s likely that everyone is in there, as there isn’t in my opinion enough precedence for this to happen. People think that if the disintegrated heroes are inside the Soul Realm, then there could be some kind of ‘exchange’ between the old guard and those within, but I think that resurrecting at least some of the deceased heroes could have something to do with the Time Stone, as Doctor Strange’s plan suggests. Still, there’s certainly a possibility of this happening.

2. DOCTOR STRANGE’S PLAN

So we know that Doctor Strange’s plan is to play out the endgame. This presumably refers to chess (does anyone play chess anymore? No? Only me?), where you have to try and Checkmate an opponent, something which requires sacrificing certain pieces for the greater good, like the Rook you’re quite fond of, or the Knight you’d much rather keep, to achieve that final objective of winning the game. The question is, what’s Doctor Strange’s plan all about? We know that when he looked into the future at over 14 million possible outcomes, he saw only one in which our heroes win. We know it required Thanos acquiring the Time Stone, and eventually succeeding in balancing the Universe. We know that it required Tony Stark to stay alive. That leaves a load of blanks. It seems like Tony is crucial in defeating Thanos; will he build a suit capable of harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones and go on a ‘reverse heist’ of what Thanos did in Infinity War? Set photo’s from Avengers 4 seem to hint at Time Travel; perhaps Tony has an important memory of where it all went wrong, and with the help of Ant-Man, goes back in time to try and, this is a bit of a long shot, destroy some of the Stones before Thanos can get his giant purple fingers on them? Or perhaps Strange knew that Thanos needed to get all the Stones, because he’d discovered that the Mad Titan would become the architect of his own downfall…

3. THE RESURRECTION OF GAMORA

A lot of people think resurrecting Gamora would cheapen the impact of her death, but I could still imagine a scenario in which she is resurrected. Perhaps there really is a Soul trade, and Peter Quill, after being resurrected from disintegration in some way or another, exchanges places with Gamora out of love, as it’s already been established that he cares very deeply about her. The only problem with this is that Chris Pratt is scheduled to appear in Guardians Vol. 3 in 2020, so killing off Star-Lord might put a dent in the chances of him returning for that third film. Here’s a bit of a more creative theory; in Age of Ultron, Captain America says that he has no hopes of ever living a normal life. Perhaps, after finding Star-Lord so heartbroken after Gamora’s death, he sees himself in Star-Lord, and the relationship with Peggy Carter that he never had. Maybe this provokes him to sacrifice himself to the Soul Stone so that Gamora is resurrected. Tony could be the one that makes the trade, if my theory about him making a suit to harness the power of the Stones is true, as a poetic way to show that his friendship with Steve Rogers is mended once more. There are a few holes here and there in the theory, but let me know what you think in the comments.

One other theory is that the scene between Thanos and Little Gamora at the end of Infinity War was symbolic of Thanos realising that balancing the Universe had cost him too much in losing his daughter. Maybe he uses the Time Stone to go back and save her, meaning that he can’t perform the click in the first place, although this theory rides a lot on Thanos loving his daughter enough to reverse the thing he’d worked so hard to achieve.

4. THE QUANTUM REALM

By now, you’ve probably seen some leaked set photos from Avengers 4. You know the ones; blonde Stark, Ant-Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Loki, seemingly during/after the Battle of New York. This could imply one of two things, one of which being the use of the B.A.R.F. technology from Civil War, something you can read more about using this link, or, as you’ve inevitably heard, Time Travel. Most people are speculating about the latter. The theories go that it’s all something to do with Ant-Man, an idea that will be explored more in Ant-Man and the Wasp, concerning the Quantum Realm, where Space and Time don’t exist. Is it possible that they’ve figured out a way to manipulate the Quantum Realm to achieve Time Travel? Or perhaps Ant-Man and Stark Use the Quantum Realm to travel to the Soul Realm, where presumably Gamora is? Whatever happens, it seems as though Ant-Man could be integral to the outcome of Avengers 4, with him and Tony Stark appearing to be, from those set photos, the key players in executing Doctor Strange’s plan.

5. THE MULTIVERSE

This is quite a farfetched one, but considering that the MCU is supposedly going to go cosmic, you never know. Keeping with those set photos, on the hands of every hero featured in them is some sort of device. I’m convinced that it’s the B.A.R.F. tech from Civil War, but you never know, it might not be. There’s a lot of talk about Multiverses being something the MCU could explore in future, so why not Avengers 4? Perhaps Ant-Man and Stark travel to different Multiverses in the hope of finding the scenario in which the Avengers could have won against Thanos, and then use Time Travel to achieve this? Or maybe they scour the Multiverse for Captain MARVEL – that would be a good excuse for her not being there when Thanos came. “I was lost in the Multiverse” is much more convincing than, “I must stay and guard the Sanctum.” That’s right Wong, I’m onto you. Getting back on topic, I’m very sceptical of this theory, because there’s literally no precedence to it, and it seems very convoluted, but MARVEL are no strangers to ambition. I don’t think this theory is anywhere close to the reality of what will happen, but I do think there will be some kind time and space related elements used in defeating Thanos, specifically the former in relation to Doctor Strange’s plan.

6. NEBULA WILL KILL THANOS

My basis for this theory is that Nebula has the closest emotional connection with Thanos. He tortured her growing up, made her fight her own sister, replaced parts of her body with mechanical substitutes whenever she lost in combat. Nebula clearly has a vendetta against Thanos; she’s already tried and failed to kill him, and now he’s killed her sister on his path to balancing the Universe, suddenly the stakes are driven up a notch. In the comics, Nebula actually wields the Gauntlet against Thanos, resurrecting the fallen heroes, so that too supports her having a major input with his downfall. The very fact that she’s been kept alive seems particularly convenient, like she has some kind of importance we’re yet to fully understand. If she is the one to end Thanos, it would mark a resounding end to her story arc.

Another possibility I could see happening is a Soul trade between her and Gamora. In Guardians Vol. 2, it was established that she really loves her sister, something could lead to her exchanging her life for her sister’s. To use the Soul Stone requires a sacrifice…

7. A NEW VILLAIN WILL BE HINTED AT…

Wouldn’t this be awesome; we get to the end credits scene of Avengers 4, and it features the Silver Surfer, herald of a cosmic being who loves a diet of planets that is perfectly balanced, as all things should be (I know you’re laughing inside). The reason I’m suggesting this is because there is the nearing confirmation of the Disney-FOX merger; wouldn’t it be cool if they started setting up someone like Galactus or Kang as the overarching villain for the next decade of the MCU? There are rumors building, and this is less of a theory than it is a request for Disney to start bringing FOX characters into the MCU. I need Wolverine vs Hulk, Disney.

8. IT WILL ALL END WITH A MARRIAGE… OR A FUNERAL

Bucky actor Sebastian Stan recently hinted at a scene recorded with a lot of the cast at the end of filming. I think he could be hinting at one of two things; the Wedding of Tony and Pepper, or perhaps the funeral of Captain America. There was a lot of dialogue concerning the Wedding in Infinity War, so there’s certainly enough in the narrative to back up Stark getting married, something that might convince him to retire from superhero duties. It would be a resounding, emotional conclusion to that arc first established in Iron Man, where Tony has gradually left behind the man he once was. Marrying Pepper would be letting go of that last part of him before he became Iron Man. Alternatively, Captain America’s funeral would provide a much darker ending, paying off the source material, in which Captain America dies following Civil War. I don’t know, but that first theory seems a lot cheerier, and much more likely. Please don’t let me be Wong (get it… because Wong is invited to Tony’s Wedding… I’ll see myself out).

So here we are; you just about managed to sit through me guiding you through the unique and often worrying world of fan theories. If you’re not asleep, didn’t decide to leave when I started making woeful puns, and you enjoyed my theories, I’d appreciate you following the site, and letting me know any of your own ideas, which I’m sure are better than mine. Thanks for reading. (: