Here’s my guess as to the preliminary plot and arc for Endgame:

The theme of Endgame will be unity. It goes back to the scene in Infinity War when Strange tells Tony he will let Tony and Peter die to save the Time Stone. Yet in the end, he gives up the Stone to save Tony. Thematically, it’s reinforcing the idea that the Avengers don’t trade lives, and that’s their strength. As far as relation to the actual plot, it’s because what Strange saw is that the one chance everybody had was if Tony made it back to Earth. He could help the Avengers tunnel into the Quantum Realm, go back in time, and change events so that the unified force of all the heroes can face Thanos together.

But that’s pretty general. I think we can get a little more specific than that. Check out the Endgame Bingo Card. Keep reading for a little elaboration on each square.

“Avengers Assemble!”

It’s the iconic battle cry of the Avengers, and it hasn’t been said yet in the MCU. This is the freebie.

Vision Didn’t Actually Die When the Mind Stone Was Taken

They make a big point of how Vision is more than just the Mind Stone, and that he theoretically could survive without it. Maybe Shuri actually did manage to disentangle his mind enough for him to survive Thanos’s attack.

Captain America Dies

Self-explanatory.

Iron Man Dies

Also self-explanatory.

An Avenger that Isn’t Cap or Iron Man Dies

Also also self-explanatory.

All the Original Avengers Die

At this point, I feel like I should clarify that I count any of these deaths even if they get reversed later. If Cap bites it and the rest of the gang then bring him back with all the people that got snapped, he still died.

Multi-Month to Multi-Year Time Jump in the First Act

I am near positive that there’s a time skip at the start of the movie after the recent trailers. I think it’s going to be a WHILE.

Hawkeye’s Entire Family Got Snapped

Poor Hawkeye 🙁

A Key Character Dies or Appears to Die but Is Resurrected or Revealed as Alive Before the End of the Credits

I’m positive more than one character is going to die in this movie, but I doubt multiple major characters will be dead by the end.

Quantum Realm Time Travel

Those suits they’re wearing in the trailer? They aren’t space suits. They look an awful lot like the Quantum Realm suit from Ant-Man and the Wasp. The big play the Avengers are making is using a time vortex to go back in time and prevent everything from going wrong.

The Avengers Don’t Just Reset the Snap, They Change the History of the MCU

The Avengers not only time travel, they go back to before the events of Infinity War.

Big Fight Scene feat. EVERYBODY

Obligatory, at this point. They aren’t going to miss out on the toy-selling money shot.

A Character Believed Dead Prior To the Snap Gets Resurrected

Most likely: Gamora. Least Likely: Quicksilver (although wouldn’t that shock everyone?).

Banner and Hulk Make Their Peace and Come Together To Form A Smart Hulk

This is the natural endgame (heh) for the Hulk/Banner arc.

A Key Portion of One of the Trailers Turns Out To Have Been Faked

They did it last time with the Hulk in Wakanda. This time around, I think that group shot in the hangar looks pretty suspect.

Some Characters Are Alive in the Soul Stone

The Soul Stone is the Infinity Stone that has been explored the LEAST so far. In the comics, it houses an entire alternate universe. Besides that, there’s something iffy about young Gamora’s appearance at the end of Infinity War. Given her comic history and the Stone’s, I think it’s likely somebody is in there.

The Original Six Avengers Undo Everything by Each Using One Infinity Stone in a Circuit, Not by Using the Gauntlet

You remember the end of Guardians of the Galaxy 1? The bit where they control the Power Stone by holding hands? Imagine that, but it’s the original Avengers, each holding one Stone.

Teaser for X-Men/FF Characters

The deal got finalized. If they had time to film something, they’d be foolish to not include it.

Gamora and/or Nebula Are the Ones to Take Thanos Down

Honestly, I just hope this is the case. These ladies deserve better.

There’s a Living Intelligence in the Mind Stone

Do you remember how there’s a big deal about the Mind Stone having limited sapience of some sort in Age of Ultron? Remember how it’s somewhat ambiguous as to what actually happened to Ultron at the end of that movie? Look, they brought Red Skull back, so referring to Age of Ultron seems totally possible. And that thing was plugged into Vision’s head, so maybe part of him is around too.

Captain Marvel is the Biggest Weapon Against Thanos Because Her Power Comes from the Space Stone

In the last film, there’s a major plot point about how Scarlet Witch can affect and destroy the Mind Stone because she got her powers from it. Guess who else got their powers from an Infinity Stone?

A Forgotten Character from a Previous Movie Makes a Surprising Reappearance

Red Skull 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Nebula Gains Control of the Infinity Gauntlet

Straight out of Infinity Gauntlet.

The End of the Movie Includes a New Avengers Roster Featuring Two or Fewer OG Avengers

No matter who actually survives the film, I think the Avengers are going to have way less presence from the original six moving forward. Make way for Captain Marvel, Black Panther, The Wasp, etc.

A Previously Unannounced Hero Unrelated to the Fox Merger Will Appear or Be Hinted At

Marvel still has a ton of characters to pull from that aren’t part of the Fox merger. I expect one or more to at least be hinted at here.

Conclusion

Maybe none of this is right. Maybe some of it is, and some of it isn’t. Maybe I called everything. Maybe it’s all a huge swerve and the film is going to play out exactly as expected for the first act and then get real freaky. Maybe Thanos isn’t even the main villain. Maybe the entire movie reveals the whole of the MCU has actually just been one iteration of a massive time loop caused by the war for the Infinity Stones, and the film itself actually contains multiple other iterations of the loops.

Who knows? I, for one, am very excited to find out.

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