As the various marketing material and tie-in products around the upcoming Avengers: Endgame indicate, the Avengers: Infinity War sequel will see Thanos once more play a key role in the action. But seeing how we’ve already had a whole two-and-a-half-hour movie of Avengers vs. the Mad Titan, the question is raised of how this next film will keep the character relevant without giving us more of the same.
One answer to this conundrum that some fans seem particularly fond of is that a new villain might the fray, forcing Thanos to team up with our heroes and face this greater evil. But according to a recent post from Reddit user Ak2sup, the purple tyrant could still be the main antagonist, only it won’t be the same version of the character that we saw in his last film.
To elaborate, it’s observed how various leaks make it clear that Thanos will be back wearing his old armor along with a new sword in Endgame. What’s unusual about this development is that the villain previously ditched his armor during Infinity War, since he believed that his Infinity Gauntlet kept him protected enough.
A popular theory for why the Mad Titan is taking precautions again is that his gauntlet was severely damaged by the snap, meaning that it’s no longer working at full capacity. What Ak2sup argues, however, is that the Thanos of Infinity War is genuinely retired, and that the armored Thanos is actually a version from the past that our heroes will fight after traveling back in time. Specifically, it’s speculated that the Avengers may encounter this slightly younger Thanos when they journey back to the Battle of New York in an attempt to defeat the villain before his quest for the Infinity Stones can even begin.
All in all, it’s an interesting idea that’s even partially backed up by leaked set photos. Granted, this is still just one idea of many on how the events of Avengers: Endgame could play out, but we’ll find out how much the theory gets right when the film hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.