Okay, y’all, I may be late to this Avengers party because of a crappy real-life job, but I’m here now and let’s talk Avengers.

Spoilers ahead and lots of Endgame theories!

Let’s start with a quick vocab lesson. “Endgame” is a term that refers to the final move of a chess match, in which only a few pieces are left on the board. For the Avengers, those that survived the Snap are those final pieces, and there aren’t a lot of moves left available to them, but we’ll get to that in a second.

For now, if you haven’t watched the trailer lately, refresh your memory before I get heavy on the theorizing.

So why does this trailer start with all these flashbacks? We see plenty of footage from the phase one origin films, with seemingly no real connection to the newest installment in the franchise other than to make us nostalgic.

Or is there?

We already know that this film is gonna be heavy on the feels, because it’s almost a certainty that one or more of our favorite heroes won’t make it to the end of it. The actors’ contracts are up, and it’s time for a fresh start.

But, yeah, more on that later too.

The flashbacks are done similarly to previous footage, in that the only color showing is red. This is not only cinematically striking, but red also represents blood, war, and often, death. The red could also be symbolic for courage, and also sacrifice. In fact, red is the color used to symbolize sacrifice and martyrdom in many cultures around the world, and it could be a clue that some of our favs are about to sacrifice themselves to avenge the universe.

This trailer doesn’t give us much information in terms of plot. We don’t see Thanos. We don’t hear any specifics of the plan. We don’t see almost any glimpses of a fight scene. Marvel is keeping their cards close to the chest, and have not given away anything big or spoiler-y in the trailer.

And yet, I have a strong theory on what’s next for our Avengers.

Time Travel.

 

This is the one move that’s left to the characters who survived the Snap, and it’s one that was hinted at strongly in last year’s Ant-man and the Wasp. 

Now, there have been several comic arcs that had “Endgame” in their title, and none of them seem to be particularly relevant to the MCU, except that in the comics the title is often used to proclaim the end of a series or arc, and herald the start of a new one.

So it seems will happen in this Avengers movie, and because Marvel would probably face a riot if they kill-killed (not just dusted) their audience’s favorite heroes, I’m guessing they’re going to the thing that comic books are famous for.

Reboot to an alternate universe.

My guess is that whatever plan the Avengers have, that Doctor Strange foresaw in Infinity War, it involves resetting the timeline, and possibly creating an alternate reality at the same time. This could conceivably gives characters a happy ending (Cap could finally dance with Peggy) while still opening the door for new heroes to take over the MCU.

The flashbacks at the beginning of the trailer are probably more than just nostalgia; it could be a hint that these characters are travelling back in their own timelines. In fact, if you look at this list of Time Travelers in the Marvel Universe, you’ll see that Tony Stark is listed four times, from for alternate universes. If we assume that the MCU currently exists in an Earth-616 storyline, the ways they could take their film universe are endless.

Well, as long as people keep buying tickets.

P.S. And if you’re thinking, “where’s the Hulk? Where’s Brucie Bruce?” I’m guessing we’re going to see an incarnation of Professor Hulk, in which Bruce’s mind is present in Hulk’s body.

What are your thoughts about Avengers: Endgame? Tweet us @collectivenerds