Until Marvel Studios gives us more Avengers: Endgame material to chew over, the fans will be analyzing the film’s first trailer for all it’s worth, and as the literal frame-by-frame scrutiny of the teaser continues, the internet has offered some pretty imaginative theories.
Just take this new suggestion from Reddit from user iAMA_Leb_AMA, who acknowledges that their new find “Might be a coincidence..might be something a ton sadder.” The post consists of a screenshot of the ship that Tony Stark is seen drifting in as he slowly runs out of oxygen. Alongside this image are a few googled illustrations of swallows, which show a similar shape to the vessel that Iron Man’s flying in.
The post also includes some text explaining the symbolic significance of these birds as indicators that a journey is nearing its end. From here, the suggestion is made that Stark’s own MCU journey might be coming to a close, be it through death or a quiet retirement.
While it’s not impossible that Anthony and Joe Russo had such a metaphor in mind, this theory still seems like a real stretch. After all, out of the thousands of species of bird in existence, the swallow is hardly the only family to bear some resemblance to the outline of Stark’s inherently bird-like ship.
All the same, it’s understandable that fans would be looking so closely for clues of Stark’s impending departure from the series, given how popular a prediction this has been. As the character who helped kick off this whole franchise with 2008’s Iron Man, you could argue that there’d be no better way to mark the end of an era than giving Robert Downey Jr.’s character a heartfelt sendoff, though the theories of Captain America’s departure remain similarly prominent. In any case, we’ll likely find out who’ll still be around for Marvel’s Phase 4 when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.