With Avengers 4 far off on the horizon, there’s still plenty in Infinity War to keep fans theorizing, and the latest bit of speculation has some big implications for the upcoming sequel and may even give us a clue as to not only Thanos’ whereabouts, but also his when-abouts.
When the Mad Titan was getting all expositional with Doctor Strange, he revealed his master plan to wipe out half of the universe, thus relieving each world of the pressures of overpopulation and the resulting famine, poverty and war. Then, he says: “I finally rest, and watch the sunrise on a grateful universe.” Soon after, it’s mission accomplished, and through teary eyes, we see Thanos in a fertile, peaceful land, looking back on his achievements.
As has now been confirmed by conceptual artist Pete Thompson, who recently released a piece of concept art which showed the villain retiring, mission completed, to a beautiful, flourishing and tranquil land, the scene takes place on Titan.
However, we know from Thanos’ flashbacks that Titan was ravaged by famine and a widespread atrocity which inspired his master plan in the first place. His final shot certainly doesn’t look like a land torn apart by either, which as Screen Rant suggests, implies that the use of the Infinity Gauntlet’s Time Stone has propelled the big bad back in time. Well, he wouldn’t go back to Titan in the shape it’s in currently, now would he?
Of course, the use of the Time Stone is a popular theory when considering how Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will get their numbers back up in time for the sequel, but the idea of Josh Brolin’s villain traveling back through time himself feels relatively fresh. Is this what Doctor Strange prophesied? Did they need to “let” Thanos win so he could travel back to the past and leave them long enough to regroup?
There’s only one way to find out, and sadly it involves waiting until May for Avengers 4 to land.