Avengers: Endgame is special for a lot of reasons. It's the culmination of 11 years of storytelling, the curtain call for several favorite characters and the finale of one the grandest movie experiments of all time. It's a straight-up cinema event, and yet we can probably summarize everything that we know about this movie in one sentence. The marketing for Endgame has been incredibly secretive, and with about one week left to go, we have a ton of questions still left unanswered.
Footage may have leaked, but Thanos still demands your silence. Spoilers for Endgame are being kept to an absolute minimum and only small pieces of the puzzle have been revealed by footage. However, even new footage reveals more questions than answers. We still have about a week to go before everything is finally answered, but until then, these are the last big spoiler-free questions that remain for Endgame.
What's The Deal With The Matching Suits?
The various members of the Avengers usually like to rock their own costumes, but Endgame will feature the characters wearing their first team uniform. The matching white outfits have been popping up on all sorts of marketing and promotional material for a while now, but we don't actually know the purpose for the new costumes. Is it just a visual metaphor to show that the Avengers are truly united as one? Do the suits serve a specific purpose? There are plenty of theories on the latter, but if one thing is clear: the Avengers look damn good in them.
How Do Tony Stark And Nebula Return To Earth?
The very first trailer for Endgame opened with Tony Stark stranded in outer space with little hope of rescue or survival. Later trailers revealed that Tony and Nebula do indeed find their way back to Earth. The question is how. Fans have theorized that Pepper Potts or Captain Marvel could mount a rescue mission, but right now it's unclear how Tony and Nebula get from point A to B. I subscribe to the theory that Tony tinkers their way out of the situation as a homage to escaping that cave way back in Iron Man, but we'll know soon enough.
Does Thanos Have A New Infinity Gauntlet?
At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, unleashing the full power of all six Infinity Stones left the Infinity Gauntlet charred and withered. Though Thanos' escape proves the Gauntlet still works, it's clearly seen better days. However, the Gauntlet appears good as new on Thanos' arm in a number of marketing materials. This begs the question of if Thanos has found a way to fix the Gauntlet or he gets a new one. Either way, why does he need to have the Gauntlet in the first place? The new Gauntlet could be a trick of the marketing and not actually be in the movie, but I'd be really surprised if the Stones didn't have a big role to play.
Who's Going To Die?
During the promotion for Infinity War, Marvel teased that no one was safe. That turned out to be true, and we have even more reason to think that lives will be lost by the time the credits roll in Endgame. This movie has been teased as a conclusion, so it's natural that some characters won't make it out alive. Captain America and Iron Man are the two most popular bets to not survive, but really almost anyone could bite the big one in this movie. Pack you tissues because this movie is probably going to be emotional.
Will There Be Time Travel?
There are no less than one million theories about Endgame, but perhaps the most popular one involves time travel. Thanks to some set photo leaks, people think that the Avengers will be traveling through time as a means to stop Thanos and the Decimation from ever happening. Based on comic book logic, this is one of the only foreseeable ways to reverse the ending of Infinity War, and one brief line from Ant-Man and the Wasp may have teed this theory up. Marvel isn't about to drop a spoiler like that before the premiere, but it's the strongest theory out there right now. (Sorry, Thanus fans).
Is There Another Villain?
Thanos is the main villain of the entire Infinity Saga, but even the biggest bad guys need some help. Thanos had the Black Order helping him out in Infinity War, and rumors suggest he might not be alone in Endgame. Promotional material may have spilled the beans that there's an even greater enemy in Endgame, but that obviously hasn't been confirmed. The trailers have been really light on Thanos, which might suggest that there is someone else sharing the spotlight. One popular theory was this individual is the inter-dimensional conqueror Annihilus, but that lost a lot of steam when Avengers: Annihilation wasn't the title.
Are The Snapped Really Dead?
The ending of Infinity War is one of the most shocking moments in recent movie history, but a number of people online wondered if it mattered since all the characters were more than likely coming back. While most fans seem to be in agreement that popular characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man are definitely not dead, there's debate on what actually happened to them. Did they actually die or were they transported into the Soul Stone? It's tough to say at this point, but their resurrection is a huge focus of Endgame.
What's Going On With Hulk?
The Hulk is one of the most powerful characters in the MCU, but he called it quits after getting his ass kicked by Thanos in the opening minutes of Infinity War. After that, Hulk refused to come out no matter how much danger Bruce Banner was in. Hulk has been MIA in almost all the marketing for Endgame and hasn't appeared on any major posters for the film. However, he has appeared in action figure form and in some concept art, making us wonder why the movie is being gun shy about showing off the Hulk. The big hint is that he doesn't look quite the same as he usually does, and this is a good indicator for how the three-part Hulk/Banner storyline will conclude.
Is There A Time Jump?
Traveling to the past is a popular Endgame theory, but the movie may also have a few jumps into the future. There have been rumors that Endgame will feature a time jump in some capacity. Five years seems to be the favored number, wherein it takes the Avengers half of a decade to figure out how to defeat Thanos. The only indication that there is a jump is Black Widow's hairstyle. Widow rocks three different looks in the movie with her hair progressively changing back to read. This tells us that at least some amount of time will pass during the events of Endgame -- at least enough for someone to change their hairstyle two times.
What Will It Set Up?
Endgame is in a unique position because while it is an ending, it also has to serve as a beginning. While some characters are saying goodbye, the landscape of the MCU will supposedly be very different from here on out. Marvel already has some projects like The Eternals and Shang-Chi in development, but will Endgame set any of that up? Could Endgame tease the new big bad of Phase 4 in anyway or will fans just get a small indication of what to expect for the next five years? I'd wager that by the end of it we will get a new Avengers team, but I can also see Marvel ending big with a shocking post-credits scene.
Avengers: Endgame has been an interesting movie to follow. It has so much hype that it's breaking records weeks before it's in theaters, and yet people know so little about it. The marketing arguably doesn't have to do much because no matter what, this movie feels destined to make billions of dollars. We know almost nothing about the plot or character arcs, but that will just make the experience of watching the movie that much more memorable. Overall, it's great to see a major studio holding back to keep people as surprised as possible. The endgame is fast approaching and soon all of our questions will be answered.
