If you still haven’t seenAvengers: Infinity Waryet, rest assured, there will be countless SPOILERS below, so ensure you’ve seen the movie before proceeding. There had been no shortage of hints that many iconic heroes would ultimately perish in this movie, and Marvel delivered on their promise, with a 150-minute movie that is easily the biggest and most ambitious Marvel Studios has ever made. As the countdown now begins towardsAvengers 4,Avengers: Infinity Warhas left us with so many burning questions that we felt the need to address them all, right here. This is your last chance to avoid SPOILERS, so read on at your own risk.
While Marvel most definitely delivered on a few of the deaths that many fans saw coming, such as the iconicThorvillain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and fan-favorite Vision (Paul Bettany), who was literally brought to life by the Mind Stone embedded in his head, there were quite a few deaths that fans didn’t see coming like Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Heimdall (Idris Elba). Then there were the controversial disintegrations that left fans stunned, such as Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier), The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Groot (Vin Diesel), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and, during the one post-credit scene, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). Given how many of these characters are expected to be in upcoming sequels, most don’t expect them to be completely dead, although how they are resurrected remains to be seen.
These characters all died because the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin), was able to procure all six Infinity Stones, with varying degrees of difficulty. When Thanos arrived on Earth, he already had two stones, the purple Power Stone, which he obtained by decimating the Nova Corps on Xandar, and the blue Space Stone, which he took from Loki before killing him. Thanos obtained the Reality Stone from The Collector (Benicio del Toro), the Mind Stone was taken from Vision’s forehead and the Time Stone was, surprisingly, voluntarily given to Thanos by Doctor Strange, after he went ahead in time and saw all the possibilities of how this battle plays out, and there is only one scenario where the Avengers win in the end, which seemingly involves handing the Time Stone to Thanos.
The Soul Stone was the only one of the six Infinity Stones that had not yet been revealed prior toAvengers: Infinity War, as we learned that Gamora has known it’s location all along. Fans got a surprise appearance by Red Skull (Ross Marquand), who had been cursed to oversee the Soul Stone after trying to wield the Space Stone’s power with his bare hands inCaptain America: The First Avenger. While Red Skull’s cameo was unexpected, it was nothing compared to the shocking twist that happened shortly thereafter, where Thanos sacrificed his daughter Gamora to wield the Soul Stone. Before we head back to theaters to dissectAvengers: Infinity Warsome more, we’re presenting our 15 most burning questions posed by the events ofAvengers: Infinity War, that must be answered in next year’sAvengers 4.
15Did half of the earth’s population really die?
When we see the heroes disintegrate at the end of the film, it was quite shocking, since practically all of those characters are attached to upcoming sequels, and there is no clear-cut explanation as to how these heroes will ultimately be resurrected. Most fans don’t believe they’re truly dead. Now, if it had been the original Avengers who had been killed, many of whom arenearing the end of their MCU contracts, there may not have been as many skeptics, but along with the heroes they did kill off, it was mentioned numerous times in the movie that when Thanos gets all of the Stones, half the world’s population will be gone at the snap of his fingers. There are a number of characters whose fates we didn’t actually see, like Shuri (Letitia Wright), The Collector (Benicio del Toro), Wong (Benedict Wong) and more, but aside from the heroes,Avengers 4may also have to reveal if any non-superhero characters from 10 years of the MCU have disintegrated, who weren’t featured inInfinity Warat all.
14How will our favorite heroes be resurrected?
Given the prevailing assumption that everyone who was disintegrated at the end ofAvengers: Infinity Warwill somehow be brought back to life, how will this actually happen? SinceThanos holds the Time Stone, along with the other Infinity Stones, Doctor Strange or any of the other heroes can’t use it to turn back time and un-disintegrate everybody. This is where the cagey scheduling of Marvel may come into play, since the next MCU movie, and the final one this year,Ant-Man and the Wasp, will most likely delve into the Quantum Realm once again, and it is believed that sequel is actually set betweenCaptain America: Civil WarandAvengers: Infinity War, which could help set upAvengers 4by delving deeper into the Quantum Realm. Another possibility is simply tracking down Thanos and removing the Infinity Gauntlet, but, as we saw inInfinity War, that’s much easier said than done. That notion also leads us into the next question…
13Where did Thanos go?
After obtaining all six Infinity Stones, Thanos literally snapped his fingers, wiping out half of human existence, and then created a portal to… somewhere, and disappeared, asseveral of the Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes disintegrated. But where exactly did Thanos go to? One prevalent theory is that Thanos actually teleported inside the Soul Stone itself, since, in the Marvel Comics, the Soul Stone has its own dimension of reality where souls live on after their bodies die, which is where all of the disintegrated heroes may have gone to as well. Thanos is seen at the end of the film in a mysterious place with an orange hue that could represent this Soul Stone dimension, confronted by a younger version of Gamora, who Thanos sacrificed to get the Soul Stone in the first place. With Thanos seemingly at peace in this dimension, in a wooden hut surrounded by plants, it leads into the next question…
12What is Thanos' next move?
While the remaining Avengers certainly have more to fight for than ever before, Thanos' arc inAvengers 4is one fans will be pondering for the next year, until the May 3 release ofAvengers 4. The rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will certainly attempt to reverse what Thanos has done, but if Thanos actually has transported himself into the actual Soul Stone, well… what reason would he have to leave? Thanos has completed his mission, wiping out half of humanity, and, if the Soul Stone dimension theory is true, it would certainly be nearly impossible to find him, and/or draw him out of hiding. It’s possible that the young version of Gamora could possibly find a way to coax him to return to Earth, but even if that’s possible, the Avengers' ranks have been decimated (for now), making it even more difficult to defeat the Mad Titan. Many have speculated that the Avengers will ultimately defeat Thanos by time travel, using means other than the Time Stone, which leads to our next question.
11Where is Ant-Man?
Ant-Man is nowhere to be found inAvengers: Infinity War, which was even used as the theme of a new teaser forAnt-Man and the Wasp, featuring a number of the MCU heroes pondering where they might have been, ahead of the brand new trailer for the MCU sequel, arriving July 6. The only time Ant-Man is mentioned inInfinity Waris during a scene where Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) says that both Ant-Man and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) opted to return to their families after the events ofCaptain America: Civil War, and it has long been believed thatAnt-Man and the Waspwill take place betweenCivil WarandAvengers: Infinity War, leading to both Ant-Man and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) returning in next year’sAvengers 4. It seems we’ll get an answer to what Ant-Man was doing betweenCivil WarandInfinity War, but the Black Widow scene also leads to our next question.
10Where is Hawkeye?
BothHawkeye and Ant-Manare really the only two “family men” within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as we met Hawkeye’s wife (Linda Cardellini) and children in quite the surprising scene inCivil War, where Hawkeye invited the rest of Team Cap to hide out at his home that no one knew about. Since Hawkeye doesn’t have a stand alone franchise of his own, we likely won’t learn exactly what Hawkeye was doing duringInfinity War, but there already have been set photos fromAvengers 4that hint at his family’s death. Back in August, whenAvengers 4started production, Jeremy Renner was seen sporting a brand new Hawkeye haircut, which, in the Ultimate comic book universe, surfaces, along with a new vigilante costume, after his family is killed by a traitor. Since Thanos has wiped out half the Earth’s population, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that Hawkeye’s wife and kids were among the casualties, which also could motivate him to re-join the team and take down Thanos once and for all.
9How does Captain Marvel fit into this story?
Marvel Studios will releaseCaptain Marvelon July 13, 2025, just two months beforeAvengers 4, and while the story line has already been confirmed to be set in the 1990s, there will most likely be a scene, or several scenes, that brings the story into present day. Marvel has done this in the past, with the final scene ofCaptain America: The First Avengerbringing a thawed-out Captain America (Steve Rogers) into present day New York City, but how this transition will be handled forCaptain Marvelremains to be seen. Brie Larson’s iconic character has been confirmed forAvengers 4, and the soleAvengers: Infinity Warpost-credit scene showed Nick Fury sending out a message of some kind to Captain Marvel, just before he and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) disintegrated. Kevin Feige had stated in the past they almost introduced Captain Marvel as a new Avenger at the end ofAvengers: Age of Ultron, but they wanted to give her a proper introduction first, which she will get next spring.
8Is there really a wedding inAvengers 4?
WhenAvengers 4shifted production to Japan last year, there had been a rumor that, among the scenes to be shot there included a wedding. That tiny tidbit of information had most fans guessing that we’d get to see Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) tie the knot, since Tony finally popped the question at the end ofSpider-Man: Homecoming. Some had thought that the wedding would happen at the end ofAvengers 4, after the final battle, but the wedding rumor was never confirmed, and it’s possible it could be for a different wedding entirely. Then again, with half of the population killed/disintegrated with the snap of Thanos' big purple fingers, it might not be the right time to celebrate. If it isn’t a wedding, though, the question remains…
7What’s really going on in Japan?
One of the casting calls for the Japanese portions of theAvengers 4production sought Japanese males to play “Japanese gangsters,” while others of all ages (between 18 and 80) were sought to play “Japanese Cafe Patrons.” Some have thought this casting call could mean the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are seeking the Yakuza’s help in defeating Thanos. Yakuza gangsters have surfaced in Marvel comic books in the past, and the Japanese organization known as The Hand has been a part of the Marvel Netflix TV shows, but it remains to be seen what exactly will happen in Japan. With a casting call for Japanese gangsters and cafe patrons, it could be the site of another huge battle scene, although that hasn’t been confirmed.
6Will Star-Lord get redemption?
On some level, part of the “blame” for Thanos' destruction could be laid on Star-Lord (Chris Pratt). While several MCU heroes like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy teamed up on Thanos' home planet of Titan to attack the villain, trying to wrest the Infinity Gauntlet from his grasp. Their plan nearly succeeded, until Star-Lord learned that Thanos killed Gamora, the woman he loved. Despite everyone telling him to back off, Star-Lord loses control, which leads to Thanos defeating all of the heroes, getting the Time Stone from Doctor Strange, thus resulting in half the population getting snuffed out of existence. The irony is, earlier, Star-Lord himself stopped Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) from losing control when they come across Thanos on Knowhere, after he procured the Reality Stone from The Collector (Benicio del Toro). Naturally, no one knows what the future holds for Star-Lord at this time, but he’ll need to redeem himself in a huge way inAvengers 4.
