There’s a widespread fan theory about Avengers: Infinity War that Doctor Strange has a bigger plan during the movie than he lets on to his fellow heroes. It all ties into his look into billions of potential futures during the film and a vision of only one that resulted in the Avengers beating Thanos. It’s believed that, as dire as things are, the current timeline is the right one and Strange giving the Time Stone to the Mad Titan was part of his plan to ensure this version of events occurred.
While rewatching Infinity War, one fan’s now possibly spotted another moment where Strange is working towards making sure the timeline plays out as it should. Reddit user @1_Bar_Warrior suggests that when the Master of the Mystic Arts takes a moment to generate a spell while battling Thanos, he’s actually making sure to choose the right spell that fits with the future he wants.
Here’s their argument:
“A small detail I noticed in IW. Doctor strange appears to be struggling to find the right spell in order to keep them on the track to victory. If he didn’t use the right spell, the path to victory may have been lost. Time stamp at 1:50.”
This is an interesting idea, though to be honest, it might be over-complicating things. This moment of hesitation could just be demonstrating the difficulty that fighting Thanos involves, as Strange has to constantly come up with fresh methods of attack. Plus, it’s worth remembering that he’s still relatively new to the sorcery game and it may take a bit of time for him to get hold of those more ambitious spells.
Still, the concept that Strange had to be careful of every single thing he did on Titan in order to ensure the proper timeline is intriguing. It makes his sacrifice at the end of Avengers: Infinity War all the more emotional, too. If you believe Strange knows everything that’s going to happen, then he hands over the Time Stone knowing that it’ll lead to his death and half of the universe being wiped out. Now, it seems it’s up to the survivors to finish his plan in Avengers 4 next May.
