Expectations were astronomically high leading up to the release of Avengers: Infinity War. Thankfully, it delivered and gave audiences a shocking ending that was open to speculation. Few people know what will happen in Avengers 4 but given some clues from prior movies, set photos, and happenings in the film industry, we have theories. We have compiled our favorites and, of course, beware of spoilers.
Avengers 4 Fan Theories: The Quantum Realm
Fans who are up-to-date with the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have left their viewing of Infinity War with one major question on their mind: where the hell where Ant-Man and Hawkeye? Though each were briefly mentioned to be under house arrest due to the fact that they had families to take care of, the reasoning wasn’t that substantial. Ant-Man’s absence was a bit more understandable considering he had a movie coming up in a couple of weeks, but it was still jarring nonetheless. If the fan theory below holds weight, however, we may be seeing a lot of Ant-Man in Avengers 4.
In the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ant-Man is in the Quantum Realm when Thanos’ infamous snap takes place. Hope, Janet, and Hank outside turned into dust, leaving Scott Lang alone in this trippy reality. In the comics, Infinity Stones have no power in the Quantum Realm. The reason Scott survives, then, is because he was in the right place at the right time. Ant-Man may travel back to the real world to piece together what happened, working with the Avengers to somehow trap Thanos in the Quantum Realm. There, the Mad Titan will be rendered virtually useless while our heroes pummel him and remove the gauntlet from his arm. He’ll be trapped there in perpetuity while the team tries to figure out how to bring the rest of the Avengers back.
Avengers 4 Fan Theories: Doctor Strange Never Died
This fan theory involves some digging through conversation back in Doctor Strange’s solo movie. If you pay close attention, Strange’s mentor, The Ancient One, tells the newly christened magic user that sorcerers cannot see past their own deaths. This implies not only that Stephen Strange is still alive and well (as he wouldn’t have been able to see past the 14.2 million pathways that ended in defeat for the Avengers), but that the magician purposefully timed the events in Infinity War to have Ant-Man trapped within the confines of the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
When Thanos snapped, Doctor Strange could have very well transformed into his astral form to travel to Ant-Man and aid him in escaping the alternative reality. From there, he could give Scott Lang some instruction as to where to find the other Avengers and tell them of the Quantum Realm’s aforementioned significance in defeating Thanos. It sounds absurd, but it might just be absurd enough to become true.
Avengers 4 Fan Theories: Time Travel
This fan theory actually has substantial evidence backing it up, as set photos have appeared showcasing the heroes in the battle of New York that took place in the original Avengers. Though it’s true that this could all be an elaborate flashback, it seems a bit nonsensical for the film crew to re-shoot entire scenes when they could very well just use previous footage.
This time travel theory, then, could revolve around the premise that the Avengers are going back to earlier eras in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in order to destroy the Infinity Stones and stop Thanos from ever using them in the first place. Though this causes some concern as to how certain movies play out (would Doctor Strange exist without the Time Stone?), there may be some elaborate explanation to tie it all together.
Avengers 4 Fan Theories: The X-Men Will Appear
Nerds can dream, can’t they? Though the deal wasn’t set in stone (see what we did there?) during production of Infinity War and Avengers 4, Disney may have struck a deal with Fox during their negotiations to have some X-Men or Fantastic Four characters show up in some way. It may just be a brief cameo or an end-credits scene, but that would be more than enough to satiate fans who have wanted to see a proper portrayal of Doctor Doom on the big screen for some time now.
Avengers 4 Fan Theories: Hawkeye Will Become Ronin
If more set photos serve as any indication, Hawkeye will be getting a drastic makeover once Avengers 4 hits the big screen. In fact, he may be dropping his earlier persona in favor of another entirely: Ronin, a far more formidable adversary with an expanded arsenal in the comics. Though Clint Barton was actually the second hero to don the identity, the fourth film in the series may forgo this detail in order to convey that this Avenger certainly means business.
Ronin’s creation could be motivated by the loss of Clint’s family after Thanos’ snap. In both Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, the archer did adamantly state his retirement from the hero business. Losing his wife and children may just be the cause he needs to get back in, and we certainly don’t blame him. Here’s hoping he’s able to bring back a couple of Stones for his kids to play with.
There are undoubtedly more theories for Avengers 4 that probably get more ludicrous and complicated as time goes on. And any one of those could be true. Or the real plot of Avengers 4 will be a combination of something old and something new, which is what will most likely happen. Regardless, we live in a special era where we don’t know what will happen. And even if Avengers 4 somehow drops the ball, overanalyzing every small detail and speculating what the future might hold is special, exciting, and something only we can take part of.
