I was pretty hyped about Avengers: Infinity War, but many years of being let down by much-anticipated blockbusters have made me try and keep my expectations low before I see them. Infinity War was a rare beast though in that it was actually better than I was hoping. The Russo brothers not only managed to balance a huge cast of MCU characters, but they also fleshed out Thanos’ character and motivations, and had some seriously heart-pumping action sequences. So heart-pumping in fact, that it’s possible the film may have actually killed someone.
The news comes from the Times of India, who tell us that 43-year-old Peddapasupula Baasha was found dead in a Proddatur cinema after a screening of Infinity War. Initially, staff thought he was sticking around for the post-credits scene, but noticed he hadn’t budged after the movie was over. They gave him a nudge, then peeled off his 3D glasses to make the gruesome discovery that he’d died during the film. Police were called and it seems that Peddapasupula had suffered a cardiac arrest at some point and died without anyone noticing.
Now, no one can conclusively say that the high octane superhero action served up by the Russo brothers definitely killed this guy, but c’mon, did you see that bit where Thanos chucked a freakin’ moon at Iron Man? Or the bit were Doctor Strange made a ton of copies of himself? Or Bruce Banner kicking ass in the Hulkbuster suit? My heart was certainly pumping, so no doubt it could have triggered some kind of latent condition.
The other answer is that the tragic final events of the film, which saw some of our favorite heroes dusted into oblivion, were so sad that they literally broke this poor guy’s heart. Again, we can never know conclusively – but on the other hand, they’ll never be able to prove the film didn’t kill him.
Avengers: Infinity War may be breaking records all over the world right now, but it’s safe to say that Marvel Studios didn’t think they’d be eyeing the one for ‘most people killed by a movie.”
