A deleted scene from Avengers: Endgame might prove that a popular theory about the villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) has been true all along.
The clip, released on streaming service Disney+, is an alternate version of a conversation between Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) featured in the film.
Just like in the Endgame, Swinton’s character can be seen telling Hulk that removing an Infinity Stone creates a new timeline. But she then goes on to reveal something new – that she’s used the Time Stone to see beyond her very own death.
It’s here where she drops the huge revelation that Thanos’s destructive finger-snap, which wiped out half of all existence, didn’t actually kill a single person.
She explains that, rather than kill people, Thanos willed them out of existence, which made their resurrection possible.
While this conveniently explains why Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow – who died trying to bring everyone back – couldn’t be resurrected, it also reveals what could be a future issue for the heroes, namely that Thanos is still alive.
Avengers: Endgame ended with Tony Stark snapping his fingers and wiping out Thanos and his army, much in the same way that Thanos wiped out half of the Avengers.
If all those who were willed out of existence can return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then Thanos certainly can.
Exactly how the series’s writers could bring him back is a mystery, but perhaps there’ll be another villain looking to enlist the services of the Mad Titan for their future plans.
Either way, it’s probably nice for Marvel bosses to know that they can bring back Thanos should they ever want to.
Avengers: Endgame will be available to watch on NOW TV on Boxing Day (26 December). Find a list of everything else to stream this Christmas here.
