From Back to the Future to Bill & Ted, Avengers: Endgame references quite a few examples of time travel fiction in its opening third, mostly to explain why they don’t make sense in the context of the MCU. However, if the latest piece of speculation from Radio Times is to be believed, then the film may contain one subtle little nod that even the most attentive of sci-fi fans might’ve missed. Be warned that a few spoilers lie ahead.
Before we get into Endgame’s potential Easter Egg, it’s perhaps worth remembering the scene in Avengers: Infinity War where Peter Parker turns to dust while pleading to his mentor Tony Stark, “I don’t want to go.” While the moment hit a lot of filmgoers right where it hurts, the sequence may have proved extra painful for Doctor Who fans, who were reminded of the time when David Tennant delivered the same line right before his version of the character effectively died.
But while the parallel between those two death scenes was almost certainly coincidental, the same may or may not be said about a particular line from Scott Lang in the new movie. As you’re likely aware, Endgame sees the team sneaking around various points in MCU history in order to retrieve the Infinity Stones. Paul Rudd’s character summarizes the mission as a “Time Heist,” which is an interesting choice of words, not least because it happens to be the name of a Doctor Who episode that aired back in 2014.
So, was Avengers: Endgame paying tribute to another popular time travel saga, or was this just another coincidence? We’ll let you be the judge of that, but either way, it’s still a fun little connection.
