An Avengers: Endgame deleted scene could prove that a popular theory about the villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) has been true all along.
The clip, which you can watch 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.
Swinton’s character can be seen telling Hulk that removing an Infinity Stone creates a new timeline. However, she then goes on to reveal something that was omitted from the film – that she’s already 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 is what made their eventual 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: Thanos still being 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 by Thanos can return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then surely Thanos can, too.
Exactly how the studio’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.
It seems he won’t be in forthcoming film Avengers: Doomsday, which will bring back Downey Jr as the film’s primary villain. He will play Fantastic Four anatgonist Doctorr Doom.
While specific details have not been confirmed about the appearance, the film’’s directing duo, the Russo brothers, said the actor’s cast was made possible due to the multiverse – a series of different worlds featuring characters old and new, which makes unlimited possibilities available.
This suggests that Downey Jr will be playing a villainous variant of Tony Stark/Iron Man. It’s believed this idea was thought up after the axeing of Jonathan Majors from the MCU; his character Kang the Destroyer was originally meant to be the primary villain in the film.
Either way, it’s probably nice for Marvel bosses to know that they can bring back Thanos should they ever want to.
Avengers: Endgame is available to stream on Disney+. Avengers: Doomsday is currently shooting and will be released in April 2026.
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