Avengers: Infinity War features many shocking moments. Some because we didn’t expect them to happen, others because they didn’t seem to make sense. Take Doctor Strange’s odd decision to hand over the Time Stone to Thanos, for example. Sure, he did it to save Iron Man’s life. But seeing as the result was that the villain became powerful enough to wipe out half of the universe, we’re not sure that’s such a good trade-off.
So, what in the name of Agamotto was Strange thinking? Fans have their theories that the Master of the Mystic Arts has a long term plan in play here – er, even if he is dead. But is this really on the cards? Well, we’re pretty sure it is, as Infinity War co-director Joe Russo has confirmed as much.
The filmmaker returned to his old school, Iowa City High, to hold a Q&A for the students this week and during the talk, he was asked about Strange’s controversial move. In response, he encouraged fans to put the pieces together:
“Uh… Yeah, spoilers- I’m not going to say what he did but doctor strange- closure is given to doctor strange….But Doctor Strange- what did he say in the film.”
Following this, the audience then unanimously cried out Strange’s final line to Tony Stark, before he turned to dust: “This is the only way.” This wasn’t exactly what Russo was referring to, though, as he encouraged the crowd to think about what Strange did before that. He received a range of replies, but the director made clear what he meant:
“He saw 14 Million futures, potential…futures. So maybe Doctor Strange knows something.”
Russo’s talking about a scene earlier in Avengers: Infinity War where the sorcerer used the Time Stone to peer into the future and witness all the different versions of how events could play out. In just one of these, the Avengers managed to come out on top and beat Thanos. This was portrayed as a bad sign, but it could be that Strange saw exactly what needed to happen in this one timeline in order to ensure that the heroes won.
There’s still a lot of confusion surrounding what exactly the Sorcerer Supreme is up to, of course, but all will be revealed in just under a year, when Avengers 4 arrives on May 3rd, 2019.