Of all the many intriguing details that caught our attention in the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, something that fans can’t agree on is the yellow planet glimpsed in several shots. It appears to be the site of a battle between Thanos and the Avengers, one that the Mad Titan seems to win as he’s seen grinning and adding yet another Infinity Stone to his Infinity Gauntlet. But what is this ravaged-looking planet?
The most common theory pointed to it being Xandar, the homeworld of the Nova Corps space police that were introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy. The Power Stone was previously left behind in their care on the planet at the end of that film, so it made sense that Thanos would return there to retrieve it. However, it turns out this is not the case. Marvel Studios have confirmed to EW that this planet is, in fact, Titan – where Thanos originates.
“While fans have speculated that this may be devastation on Xandar, where the Nova Corps was guarding the purple power stone from the Orb, Marvel tells EW this shot is actually on Titan, the ruined homeworld of Thanos.”
In the comics – as in real-life – Titan is Saturn’s Moon. Where the comics diverge from reality, though, is that Marvel’s Titan is home to the Titanians, a species of Eternals (super-powered humanoid aliens). In the comics, Thanos – a mutant Eternal known as a Deviant – began a war on Titan that almost completely wiped out the population. Going by its desolate appearance in the trailer, it seems likely that something similar happened in the continuity of the MCU, as well.
We’re also curious to know just how the assembled Avengers managed to reach Titan in the first place. Did they hitch a ride with the Guardians? Get help from the Nova Corps? Or did they travel through one of those inter-spatial portals that Thanos seems to use to get around the galaxy?
The answers await us when Avengers: Infinity War arrives on April 27th.
