AVENGERS: ENDGAME is almost upon us! The landmark film marks the culmination of over 20 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Needless to say, I am the most excited I have ever been for a comic book superhero movie. Around this time, that giddy kid-like feeling inside me always starts to bubble up, as I start to think about all the AVENGERS: ENDGAME theories that are possible. With pre-sale tickets up this week and a mini-trailer packed with new footage, I thought now would be an apt time to take a moment and explore some loose, and, possibly, plausible, AVENGERS: ENDGAME theories.

1. Major changes for Hulk (and Puny Banner)

Hulk (Bruce Banner) has often been pushed to the back-burner throughout Marvel’s Cinematic Universe movies. This is partially due to the fact that Universal Studios still owns the rights to a Hulk “solo outing” movie. However, in the film THOR: RAGNORAK, Hulk’s persona began to shift. We saw the rise of a more articulate Hulk. He carried conversations, albeit primitive ones, with other characters. THOR: RAGNOROK was also the first time that the Hulk persona seemed to take up more screen time than “Puny Banner.”

Moving Forward…

Of course, the Russo Bros. decided to reverse that screen time decision. In AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, Bruce Banner constantly fought to release his green persona – and failed. The INFINITY WAR arc will lead to the introduction of a brand new Hulk in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. When ENDGAME begins, I think Banner will still be struggling to release Hulk. In the latest one-minute teaser, we hear Banner say,

“If we do this, we’d be going in short-handed.”

This is potentially an allusion to the fact that Banner still cannot turn green.

There is a wide shot of the remaining Avengers in the Milano, and Bruce seems to be missing from the cockpit. This leads me to believe that, early on in the film, the Avengers will attempt to battle Thanos again. They will be “short-handed” (without Hulk) and, ultimately, fail. In all of Marvel’s trailers for ENDGAME, we have seen virtually no sign of Hulk. This makes me think the Russo Bros. are teasing something major for him.

…Something they want to keep under wraps. Hopefully, midway through the film, we’ll witness an epic moment where Banner breaks free from Stark’s HulkBuster suit, embracing his… PROFESSOR HULK persona. I think the new hulk we’ll see in ENDGAME will be a perfect combination of Banner’s smarts and Hulk’s brute force. He’ll be fully conversational, and he’ll use his newfound balance to brawl with Thanos… for an epic rematch that will, hopefully, turn the tide for the Avengers.

2. Time Theories (Time Travel… or at Least Time Jumps?)

Time travel has been speculated ever since the leaked ENDGAME set pictures broke, featuring the original Battle of New York as well as Captain America’s AVENGERS (2012) suit. However, these set pictures may prove to be misleading. There have been rumors that the Russo Bros. have purposely included “fake” trailer scenes to mislead viewers into making false AVENGERS: ENDGAME theories. This would make sense, as they did this in the INFINITY WAR trailer. Despite this, though, I believe time will still play a huge role in AVENGERS: ENDGAME.

Will There Be Time Jumps In ENDGAME?

In past ENDGAME trailers, there have been many clues pointing towards time jumps, if not full-on time travel. In the second full trailer, we see Clint Barton with a buzz cut, high fiving a mysterious girl. Later on, Clint is shown sporting a different, mohawk-style haircut. Natasha Romanoff is also featured at different points in the trailer, sometimes with silver hair and sometimes with red hair. We should definitely be prepared for some time-jumps in the new movie.

There is another theory floating around that the battle scene, pictured above, between the trinity and Thanos, actually takes place on XANDAR… in the past! This would seemingly explain why Thanos is fully armored, as opposed to the stripped down garb he sported in INFINITY WAR, and why he wields a sword (and not the Infinity Gauntlet).

Time has played a major element of the AVENGERS: ENDGAME promotional campaign. The latest full ENDGAME trailer literally starts with a series of flashbacks, chronicling the origins of Cap, Iron Man, and Thor. For some reason, these flashbacks, edited in black and white, stood out to me. It felt like Marvel was hinting at something here. It made me think that Cap, Iron Man, and Thor are all in danger, and this section of the trailer was a subtle way at hinting to one of the big three’s demise in ENDGAME.

3. Captain Marvel’s SECOND Encounter With Thanos

Carol Danvers has finally made her glorious, solo and big-screen debut, and she will play a key part in the Avengers’ quest in ENDGAME. The end of CAPTAIN MARVEL saw the titular hero fly away from Earth in an attempt to find Kree a new home. But between the time of her solo movie and AVENGERS: ENDGAME, what has she been up to? Personally, I believe Captain Marvel has already encountered Thanos in her intergalactic travels.

While Thanos explained his decimation of Xandar early on in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, we never got to see what actually transpired. It’s possible that Captain Marvel was on Xandar when Thanos arrived, and desperately attempted to protect her fellow Kree people. Of course, she failed, and Thanos moved on to ruin Earth. This theory would tie in to what I mentioned earlier regarding the Avengers battling Thanos on a decimated Xandar. It would definitely make for a neat bit of circular storytelling, tying in past, offscreen events with the current ENDGAME storyline. Perhaps the Avengers choose to travel back in time to Xandar because Captain Marvel believes they can win the battle this time.

Having Captain Marvel tell the Avengers that she’s already encountered Thanos would be a great reveal during ENDGAME. It would also strengthen her motivation to pursue Thanos, proving that she is not as invincible as she seemed to be in CAPTAIN MARVEL. Captain Marvel will definitely come head to head with Thanos again, but I don’t believe she’ll be the one to actually defeat him. Read on for my opinion on who will strike a fatal blow to Thanos…

4. My Dream AVENGERS: ENDGAME Theory: Cap and the Gauntlet

That’s right! Captain America, baby. My outlandish theory is that Cap will somehow come to wield the Infinity Gauntlet. This has been a personal theory of mine since I saw AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. Who knows if there is any validity to it, but it’s what I’d like to see most of all on the big screen. My theory is that Cap will destroy the gauntlet, sacrificing himself and destroying Thanos in the process.

Cap’s “worthiness” to wield objects of great power has been teased since AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON when he just barely lifted Mjolnir. The theme of his worthiness continued with AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, when Cap went head to head with Thanos, clutching the Infinity Gauntlet with his bare fists. Cap sacrificing himself to defeat Thanos would truly be a worthy culmination of his journey, and, by golly, it would be glorious to see onscreen. If this does happen, here’s to hoping that Cap goes for the head.

5. Ant-Man Shrinks Into Thanos’ Butt and Destroys Him by Expanding.

I’m kidding. Or am I? Countless memes regarding Ant-Man traveling through Thanos’ butt that have surfaced over the past few weeks. Paired with the fact that the Russo Bros. changed their Instagram profile picture to one of these memes and I had to throw this in here.

But, in all seriousness, this isn’t a plausible ENDGAME theory! Thanos still has the reality gem, however. He’d easily be able to erase his butt with a snap of his fingers and solve any pesky insect problem!

Theories Are Just Theories

Hopefully, you enjoyed some of my theories and speculation about the much anticipated AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Keep in mind, this is all just conjecture, and it’s quite likely I’m incorrect on all fronts! Anything is possible, and I have no doubt the Russo Bros. have some wildly unpredictable twists and turns in store for us. I am beyond excited for this movie, and I hope this article got your gears turning in preparation for it!