So long as Marvel Studios refuses to deliver the details on next year’s Avengers 4, fans will continue to look for clues of what’s to come in the MCU’s spinoff literature. A couple of weeks ago, for instance, we learned from the Infinity Wars comic that the Infinity Stones were created by the Celestials, a race of powerful entities who’ve popped up a couple of times in the movies. Now, thanks to Barry Lyga’s new book Thanos: Titan Consumed, we may have been warned of a new danger that’s on the horizon.
While this novel is non-canonical, the fact that the book was produced in conjunction with Marvel Studios has led to some speculation that it’s revealed a little inside intel about next year’s Avengers: Infinity War sequel. The moment comes near the end of the book, when Thanos meets a character known as “the Lorespeaker,” who explains why the Infinity Stones have been hidden all this time.
“They are hidden, Thanos,” the Lorespeaker said, as though badgering a child, “because they are too powerful. And because the Celestials and the others, the ones whom the Celestials fear, keep close watch on the Stones from afar.”
So, what’s this got to do with Avengers 4? Potentially nothing, but if co-director Joe Russo is serious about the stakes being higher than they were in his last movie, then surely we can’t rule out some unseen threat being awakened by the Mad Titan’s mission. In fact, this isn’t even the first time we’ve seen such an idea being thrown around, with a leak from last month teasing “new foes” and “an even greater threat.”
How the Russo Brothers plan to up the ante after universe-wide genocide remains a mystery for the time being, but all will be revealed when Avengers 4 hits theaters on May 3rd, 2019.