Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo went out of their way to implore fans
and critics not to spoil the film's many twists.
So it's surprising that we've already learned a great deal about what might take place in
2019's Avengers 4.
While some potential spoilers are just rumors from questionable sources, others are slip-ups
from Marvel actors, or even appear in official Marvel publications.
Here's a look at all the Avengers 4 rumors and spoilers leaked so far.
Time travel
Leaked set photos from the filming of Avengers 4 have shown actors wearing some vintage outfits
- namely, their costumes from 2012's first Avengers film.
In fact, Marvel has even recreated sets from the film's epic Battle of New York sequence.
This has led many to speculate that Avengers 4 will involve time travel.
"Great Scott!"
And that makes sense.
We know from Avengers: Infinity War that Doctor Strange used the Time Stone to peer into possible
futures and set a kind of plan in motion - and we also know that in his own film, he used
the Time Stone's powers to reverse time and save the world.
Hey, they don't call him The Doctor for nothing!
Hawkeye will become Ronin
Thanks to leaked set photos showing Jeremy Renner wearing some black and gold boots under
his trenchcoat, it's been all but confirmed that Clint Barton will shed the Hawkeye moniker
and adopt the Ronin persona in Avengers 4, something he did in the comics back in 2007's
New Avengers #30.
Renner, of course, was infamously missing from Avengers: Infinity War, after his character
took a plea deal following the events of Captain America: Civil War in order to protect his
family.
Fans are speculating that when Thanos snapped his fingers, Hawkeye's wife and kids were
among the victims, leading him to return to action in his new, dark identity.
Tony Stark builds his own Infinity Gauntlet
The plot of Avengers: Infinity War contained so many shocks and surprises, nobody could
possibly have guessed them all.
Yet an anonymous user on the website 4chan came pretty darn close, correctly predicting
such specific details as the return of the Red Skull, and the fact that Thanos would
sacrifice Gamora to obtain the Soul Gem.
Some believe that the user must have inside sources, so people are paying close attention
to the mysterious user's latest batch of rumors for Avengers 4.
"Iron Man reassembles the Avengers and decides to build his own Infinity Gauntlet to undo
everything that Thanos did.
They recruit Ant-Man to help them travel through time and space using the Quantum Realm to
retrieve the Infinity Stones from different time periods.
Thanos finds out about their plans and becomes hellbent on stopping them.
The movie revolves around the relationship between Captain America and Iron Man."
This claim seems to be backed up by set photos showing Ant-Man alongside 2012-era Cap - or
is it possible the theory is simply based on the photos to begin with?
Hmm.
So what does Anonymous claim will happen with Stark's new Infinity Gauntlet?
Glad you asked…
Professor Hulk will wield the 'Stark Gauntlet'
One piece of promotional art for Avengers 4 has supposedly been leaked online.
Whether or not it's real is a matter of speculation, but a potentially interesting detail is the
portrayal of the Hulk, who is wearing clothes and looks almost human.
This supports fan theories that the internal battle between Hulk and Dr. Bruce Banner that
raged throughout Avengers: Infinity War will end up with the two personalities merging
to create Professor Hulk, a version of the character from the comics that combines Banner's
mind with Hulk's body.
And according to 4chan tipster Anonymous, Professor Hulk plays a vital role in Avengers
4.
"Hulk's subplot centers on Banner and Hulk finally merging to become Professor Hulk.
He is the one that ultimately wields the Stark Gauntlet against Thanos, losing his arm in
the process."
The death of Steve Rogers
The death of Steve Rogers has been rumored and anticipated for years.
Star Chris Evans has been forthcoming about the fact that his contract is up and he wants
to do other things.
Most fans expected Captain America to die during Captain America: Civil War, since that's
what happened in the comics.
So far, though, he's still going strong.
But many expect Steve Rogers to finally meet his end in Avengers 4, and the anonymous 4chan
spoiler claims to know how it's going to happen.
"At one point, Captain America and Thor fight Thanos.
Timeline alterations have restored Mjolnir, and Cap wields it against Thanos to allow
the others to escape, and is killed holding Thanos off."
These are just predictions and rumors at this stage, but the way Cap's arc has been going
seems to indicate that he's going to go out with some kind of grand sacrifice, and dying
in order to save half the universe certainly fits the bill.
Iron Man has a kid
Seeing as this Avengers 4 leak came directly from the mouth of Gwyneth Paltrow, it seems
almost certain that Tony Stark will be a daddy in Avengers 4.
In an interview for the official Avengers: Infinity War magazine, Paltrow revealed that
her character, Tony Stark's longtime love interest Pepper Potts, was destined to become
a mother.
"Pepper and Tony have had a real long journey together.
She obviously starts as his dutiful assistant, and then the relationship evolves, and now
this decade later they're married, and they have a child.
Their relationship has evolved in all of the ways that great romances evolve."
The first question raised here is, "How did this spoiler make it to print in an official
Marvel magazine?"
The second question is, "Does this mean there's going to be a time jump?"
Sure, the baby might be born at the end of Avengers 4 as a symbol of renewal and new
life - and if that happens, bet the house on the kid being named Steve in honor of Captain
America.
But it's also possible that Avengers 4 will start some years in the future, with Tony
and Pepper already parents.
If so, jumping back in time to change the past could carry devastating implications
for Tony: changing the timestream might save half the population of the universe, but at
the cost of erasing his own child from existence.
Group shot
In April, 2018, Winter Soldier actor Sebastian Stan accidentally dropped a spoiler for Avengers
4 when he revealed there was a scene featuring every character.
"There was one scene, I think, we had where everybody was there.
I can't really talk about that scene, but I knew it took them three months in planning
this scene to have everyone there.
You look around and you just saw everyone from Samuel L. Jackson to Michael Douglas
to Michelle Pfeiffer.
Everybody was there."
Stan wasn't the only one who mentioned filming this sequence, either, as Scarlett Johansson
mentioned it as well during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
"I think in one particular scene, there's like thirty-two of us.
There's a lot.
There's so many of us, I don't even know who's a Marvel character and who's like, a crew
member."
Since there was no scene like this in Avengers: Infinity War, it must take place in Avengers
4.
And since Winter Soldier - and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury - both died from Thanos's finger
snap in Infinity War, we have to wonder just how they manage to bring everyone together
at all.
Hmm!
Did Zoe Saldana spoil the title?
Marvel Studios head honcho made it clear early on that the title of Avengers 4 was a closely
guarded secret.
But that went out the window when Zoe Saldana seemed to accidentally reveal the title of
Avengers 4 on the red carpet, saying
"Infinity War is the first part, and we all have to go back for Gauntlet later this year."
James Gunn told Yahoo! that she simply had her wires crossed.
"It's not the title.
My guess is that Zoe just misspoke.
I'll talk to Zoe today, but I would imagine that is just Zoe misspeaking and saying Infinity
Gauntlet instead of Infinity War."
4chan's anonymous tipster indicated that this wasn't the case, though, writing,
"The title was Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet at one point, but it might be changed after
Zoe Saldana accidentally leaked it."
Back from the dead
The fact that Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther were wiped
out by Thanos despite both having sequels on the way pretty much confirmed that at least
some of the departed heroes will be brought back to life in Avengers 4.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have been doing their best to throw us off the scent
by implying that the mass deaths at the end of Infinity War are permanent, but it's hard
to keep up that pretense when many of the actors themselves are contradicting them.
For instance, Drax actor Dave Bautista said
"I got a lot of texts saying, 'I can't believe you're dead, your character is dead.
They were really like heartbroken and I was like, 'I'm gonna be in four, I'm gonna be
in Guardians 3.'
I don't know how they're bringing me back, yeah but somehow I'm going to make it because,
as far as I know, I am going to be in Guardians 3, so I have to be back."
And Zoe Saldana told E! Live From the Red Carpet that being sacrificed by her father
Thanos felt like a "see you later" rather than a true goodbye.
"I knew that we will have to all come back, at some point this fall, and finish up the
fourth installment of Avengers."
We can't wait to see how that finish plays out.
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