While the world waits for Avengers: Infinity War to arrive next May, the folks over at Marvel Studios are busy working on its equally highly-anticipated sequel, Avengers 4. Though the cast and crew have been careful to remain tight-lipped about it, the behind the scenes shots some have posted on social media have given us a few hints as to what we can expect.
The latest example is a photo shared by Evangeline Lilly. The actress posted a snap of herself after her working day as Hope Van Dyne AKA Wasp had wrapped. Innocent enough, right? On the surface, sure, but fans quickly noted that Lilly’s bob haircut in the photo was a close match for her look in 2015’s Ant-Man rather than the longer hair she’s been seen to sport in set photos from Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Our best guess here, then, is that Avengers 4 will flashback in time to the events of Ant-Man for some reason. What’s more, evidence suggests this won’t be the only flashback in the movie. Earlier shots from location filming have suggested that the pic will revisit the events of 2012’s The Avengers, as well. Funnily enough, it was Lilly herself who previously teased that Avengers 4 would play with the timeline. She even compared the movie to the infamously complex Lost.
“You want me to tell you about the flash-forwards and flashbacks and flash-sideways? When I heard about Infinity War and the direction that they’re heading, I did have this moment of realizing, oh, wow, there’s a bit of a déjà vu for me with the Lost franchise.”
Proper full-on time travel isn’t something the MCU has tackled so far, but a way for this to be explored has already been set up. Doctor Strange introduced the Time Stone AKA the Eye of Agamotto, which we know will play a significant role in these movies as it’s one of the six Infinity Stones that Thanos wants to get his purple hands on. Does the Mad Titan maybe travel back in time to wipe out his enemies earlier in their lives? Time will tell, but color us intrigued.
Avengers: Infinity War lands in theaters on May 4, 2018, while Avengers 4 follows a year later on May 3, 2019.