Warning: There are potential spoilers ahead for Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel. If you don’t want to know what’s coming, turn back now!
Back in 2014, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige revealed that Phase 3 would end with Avengers: Infinity War Part 2, before eventually walking back that title. Even now, Feige won’t reveal the actual name of Avengers 4, because it would be too big of a spoiler. However, reports from the set appear to indicate that there are some time travel moments ahead (and behind) for Marvel’s superhero team. Today’s Nerdist News is firing up our DeLorean as we examine whether Avengers 4 is going full Back to the Future.
Join host and owner of a personalized flux capacitor, Jessica Chobot, as she goes over the clues that the Avengers are literally going to the past. It started with Robert Downey Jr. posting a picture online featuring a hole in his shirt for the arc reactor that Tony Stark used to have. From there, spy pics from the set have demonstrated that Iron Man, Thor, and Loki are revisiting the scenes from the end of the first Avengers movie.
Additionally, casting calls from the movie have suggested scenes set in the ’60s and possibly even the ’40s, which is long before most of the Avengers were even alive. We’ve also seen glimpses of Hawkeye‘s new costume, which suggests that he’s adopting the Ronin persona, possibly in the future or an altered timeline. After dealing with Thanos in Infinity War, why are the Avengers suddenly jumping around in time? Our theory is that they didn’t win. Thanos will assemble the Infinity Gauntlet and become a God before wiping out all of the heroes…except one.
Within the MCU, only Doctor Strange has shown a willingness to explore the idea of time travel, and we suspect that he’ll be the one going back in time to secure the help of the Avengers in a unique way. Since they can’t defeat Thanos head on, perhaps they will attempt to avert the deadly outcome of that fight by subtly changing the past. That doesn’t mean they won’t end up having to fight Thanos again, since he could easily follow them through time once he’s achieved godhood. But there’s also a very good chance that the changes will stick once Thanos is finally beaten.
This could be Marvel’s way of giving the MCU a soft reboot to allow some of the original stars to exit the franchise without blowing everything up. Some of our favorite characters may not make it out intact or even alive, but we think that there will eventually be more Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man movies, even if the heroes behind those identities are Bucky Barnes, Jane Foster, or Riri Williams. And don’t count out Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, or OG Thor. They’ve overcome death in the comic book universe. There’s no reason to believe that they can’t do it again in the MCU.
What do you think about our Avengers 4 theory? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Marvel Studios/Universal Pictures
