Avengers: Endgame Updated Speculation

Four days ago I posted the sum total of the official Endgame material available at that time, while I continued working on an update of my Endgame speculation article (previously posted in October). Yesterday a new trailer came out, so I've incorporated that into this post rather than commenting on it separately. A lot has changed over the last five months and to break-up the wall of text I've divided everything into sections.

What's Known

We have an official synopsis, two teasers, the mid-credit scene from Captain Marvel, a full trailer, and a leak from a Disney shareholder meeting (seemingly confirmed by the trailer). Beyond that there are toy leaks and comments from those involved. One character who survived the Snap that seems to be involved, but we know nothing about, is Okoye--she was included in the most recent poster, but hasn't appeared in official footage, fan theories, or leaks (suggesting a minor role). With that summary out of the way, let's break it down.

Here is the official synopsis:

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.

There's not much substance here, but there are two key elements: "undo" (suggesting time travel)
and "consequences"--what, exactly, are the consequences of restoring order to the universe? It
almost seems as if the consequences of defeating Thanos are a greater threat than he is, although
that could simply be a quirk of the wording.

Before we get into the various trailers, let's keep in mind that Marvel creates fake scenes (including
CGI) to confuse what the plot is (you can see here that there were 21 Infinity War trailer shots not
included in the film).

In the first teaser we learned a few key things:

• Iron Man believes he's about to die on-board the Benatar, where he is trapped in space with Nebula (whether she'd die as well is not clear to me); this means that the duo get the ship off Titan after Infinity War, but for whatever reason cannot fly it home (or, presumably, anywhere useful)
• Cap has a plan of action that is either because of Ant-Man's arrival or changed by it (how this relates to the shareholder leak remains to be seen--see below); I'm basing this interconnection due to the consistency in Cap and Nat's hair during the relevant clips, although the scene could be deceptive (as in their reactions might not be to Ant-Man)
• Black Widow retrieves Hawkeye from wherever he is (and whatever he's doing post-Snap)
• Ant-Man has brought the van containing Hank Pym's Quantum Machine with him to Avengers HQ

Nat's narration about what happened is presumably for Carol Danvers (see below) or Scott Lang, as
everyone else would know what happened and Hawkeye's collection happens later (Nat's hair is
longer in that scene).

The second teaser is much shorter than the first, but contains these interesting elements:

• Time passing; there are two clear time periods within the film being shown--one soon after the Snap (Cap has his beard, Nat's hair is still short and blond), and one after what might be almost a year (Nat's hair gets longer and red; Thor's beard gets gnarly; Cap shaves his Infinity War beard)
• Trickery: there are two shots where someone (or possibly more than one person) has been digitally scrubbed from a shot (the former for a walk on the Avengers lawn and the latter a group shot inside the Avengers HQ--these gaps are largely filled in when we see the shot again in the trailer released yesterday)

The Captain Marvel mid-credit scene answered some questions (both broad ones from various
theories as well as those posed by the foregoing):

• Carol Danvers arrives early in the film (we know the scene is early because Cap still has his beard and Nat's hair is still short and blond); she responds to Fury's pager, which the surviving Avengers have retrieved and are using at their HQ (this seems to connect with a scene from the first teaser when Bruce is looking at the list of the missing)

To me this suggests that it's Captain Marvel who has been scrubbed out of the lawn scene in the
second teaser. It also implies that Carol arrives on the scene before Ant-Man, although it's difficult
to be certain about the timeline given that we can't be sure the reaction scenes shown for Scott
Lang are actually about him (as opposed to someone else, perhaps Nebula and Iron Man returning in the Benatar).

Combing through the latest trailer we get a variation or extension of Tony's soliloquy to Pepper
from the first teaser, as well as dialogue from Peggy Carter (long rumoured to appear in the film,
see below, although the speech is taken from Winter Soldier). This type of narrative introduction was used in the initial teaser for Infinity War via Nick Fury; another parallel to that trailer is the use of the Avengers theme. I have to wonder if the Peggy line 'start over' is another clue for time travel (like 'undo' in the synopsis above), although it could be about the Avengers becoming a team again. During the narration there are specific references to the first Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America (due to the rights situation with Universal and the re-casting of the Hulk, they don't use The Incredible Hulk).

Initially I thought the actress playing Lila Barton (whom Clint is showing how to shoot the bow) was Emma Fuhrmann--long rumoured to play an older Cassie Lang--but this is apparently one of the
Russo's daughter's in a cameo. Clint doesn't yet have the Ronin haircut so the scene is before the
Snap when it's widely assumed all or most of his family is dusted. I'd been wondering of late if
Fuhrmann would have the Kate Bishop role, but I think including it now would be pretty redundant
(the rumours about Bishop were either about a future film or a Disney+ show--both might be true in the long run).

From there we see a follow-up scene from the teaser where Black Widow meets Hawkeye in his
Ronin guise. Then Thor has his first piece of dialogue from any of the marketing where he reflects on the Snapture. Cap then talks to Nat (whose hair is longer and red--perhaps a year
after the Snap) that hits the "Not us" dialogue from the second teaser. We get a shot of Scott
Lang that matches leaked photos from eons ago (see below)--it looks like a reaction shot before he
goes to Avengers HQ (he is without the van). That's followed by a series of action shots with no context while the OG Avengers talk over them about doing what needs to be done 'whatever it takes.' We then have a shot of the group walking through the HQ in the white uniforms that were leaked last summer (and then confirmed by toy leaks); they look like Hank Pym's suit from Ant-Man and the Wasp, meaning they are for the Quantum Realm--Tony is in this shot as well, having been scrubbed from the previous teaser. The tag line is the Thor scene with Captain Marvel (see below), which confirms the shareholder leak. The former is wearing the same outfit we saw in the initial teaser, but Carol is not in the uniform she was wearing in her post-credit scene.

Disney showed a scene (or two scenes cut together) to their shareholders recently (apparently not
under an NDA). The substance is interesting and dynamites a number of Endgame theories:

• Everyone (minus Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Hawkeye--they may be there, but are not referenced) is debating what to do and Carol suggests killing Thanos, believing that with her present the Avengers can defeat him in combat
• The group knows where Thanos is due to an energy surge detected on Earth, but then also appeared on another planet (a place Nebula believes he would go anyway); they gather on the Benatar and depart for space

When this scene occurs isn't entirely clear--Nebula is present and so is Captain Marvel, so I believe
this is early in the film (the film's first act), but without our touchstones for time (Nat's hair
and Cap's beard) I can't be absolutely certain (this suggests, incidentally, that this attack will fail). I believe this scene was shown to explain where Carol has been all these years. Why will this attack fail? Endgame writers Markus and McFeely told Collider last year that the reason they didn't use Adam Warlock was because they didn't want a powerful newcomer to solve the plot--they wanted the OG Avengers to do that. This problem with Warlock applies equally to Captain Marvel--she can't be the solution and it suggests to me that when this fails it may take Carol out of the picture for awhile.

From a lego set and clues in the trailer (eg), it appears as though Thanos attacks Avengers HQ relatively early in the film--when is hard to say, other than after Cap's shave (we don't get a good look at Nat's hair to truly tell, but it's before the heroes are wearing their Quantum suits). We have no idea why Thanos attacks or in what context--from the toy it's after Carol's arrival, but how does that jive with the scene of them going into space from the shareholders leak?

Finally we get to the toy leaks--these are official toys whose advertisements are either already out
or have been leaked. Keep in mind these are rarely 100% accurate, but they are all approved items
by Marvel and they confirm two things:

• Valkyrie will appear in the film (something known from leaks and suggested by her official survival of the Snap)--she's in the same white uniform as the other heroes, suggesting she plays a part in the larger action of the film
• Pepper will wear the Rescue armour from the comics, making her a more active part of the film

That summarizes everything official we have about Endgame. However, before we jump into leaked
photos and what not, we have comments made by those involved in the film that can tell us
something. We'll start with the Russo's:

I don’t think there are any comics that correlate to it [the story of Endgame]. I think we’re in pretty fresh territory with Avengers 4. If anything, I think it’s interesting after to go back and look at some of the Marvel films and view them through a different lens. But I can’t think of any comics in particular that would have value.

This is pretty clear cut and flies in the face of virtually all the theories about the film (which borrow heavily from the comics). It's worth noting that because the Russo's were caught lying about the title of the film (denying it was Endgame months before the reveal), we have to take this statement with at least some caution, even if I think the latter case was very specific and they were under orders to deny it. The comment doesn't mean there are no comicbook influences or direct borrowings, but I think the point is that the plot is not a direct adaptation--it's important to remember that when we get into theories.

And now, Kevin Feige:

People always will jump to that [character death]. That’s not necessarily what we’re talking about. I talk a lot, because I’m a big-ass nerd, about Star Trek: The Next Generation, “All Good Things." That to me is one of the best series finales ever. That wasn’t about death. [Captain] Picard went and played poker with the crew, something he should have done a long time ago, right?

This is an important point to emphasize because there's a lot of lazy speculation about character
death out there. Whereas prior to Infinity War there was a great deal of discussion by cast and crew
about who would die, here Feige is clearly deflating that expectation for Endgame.

Leaks

While the MCU is good at keeping secrets, there have been a leaks about the film, even if none have truly given away its plot. To keep things digestible, I'll break these down by subcategories

Leaks - Casting

• In April THS (in a now-deleted post) reported that Emma Fuhrmann had been cast as Cassie Lang--this is the rumour that fueled a thousand time-jump rumours (which Conrad simply can't give up on)--but digging into it the identification of her as Cassie is in doubt since both THS and IMDB have since backtracked on it--maybe she is, maybe she isn't, but I think it's still up in the air
• In October The Wrap reported that Katherine Langford had been cast in an unknown role; a few months later she posted a picture of herself with red hair (above), leading to all sorts of speculation

THS is fantastic at scoops, but horrendous at speculation--if this future Cassie role is correct it
seems like a waste of the actress because what, then, would be her future once the Snap is fixed?
While there are no immediate plans for another Ant-Man film, it would pose some timeline issues
depending on when you wanted to use the character again (I'm also at a loss as what the point of
such a leap forward would be--Scott is already emotionally invested in solving the problem, so
what's the point of additional, convoluted motivation?). Who she is remains open--I don't think she's part of The Eternals cast because that film hadn't started casting yet (see below), and she could be a tertiary character like Jena Malone in Batman v Superman.

Langford has been predicted to be all sorts of people, but given the lateness of the leak I think
there's a strong possibility she's a link to the upcoming Eternals film (given that it lost its planned
lead-in, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, because of re-scheduling after James Gunn's firing). If that speculation is correct, it's possible that Langford is playing "Piper" from the casting list THS put out in November (that's their theory, although again, their speculation is generally terrible). It's unlikely she will have a very large role and Langford may be crammed into a post-credit scene.

The one thing not shown in any official material is time travel, which is the one thing most definitively established by leaks that go all the way back to 2017. Set photos came out showing a number of the Avengers and Ant-Man in a recreation of the 2012 Battle of New York. The general conclusion is that this represents time travel and the devices depicted are related to the Quantum Machine Scott Lang brings to the Avengers HQ in the first teaser (we know there are Time Vortexes within the Quantum Realm as they are mentioned by Janet Van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp). There are two competing theories to this: one is that the devices are related to Iron Man's B.A.R.F. technology shown in Civil War, but not only is that a far less dramatic way to look at them, but there are photos of Tony Stark suffering an injury in these sequences which are not possible in re-imagining the past, so I believe the BARF idea is a deliberate plant by the Russo's to throw people off (successfully in the case of Charlie Schneider). The final option is alternative realities, but that's an idea the Russo's have rejected:

Joe: There’s no ‘What If’ scenarios. Everything that happens in these movies, happens in these movies. There’s not like, you know, some potential, a tangential reality. We wanted to commit to the storytelling and the most complete way and not give ourselves any kind of, you know, potential, uh, outs, like, uh, it was all a reality dreams.

I'll get into the why of time travel below in the speculation part of this.

Leaks - Other Elements

What follows is a mix of comments from actors and reports from fans and the media that give us hints about what's to come. I've placed them piecemeal, commenting as I go.

• Several actors referenced being in a scene much larger than the airport battle in Civil War--Sebastian Stan mentioned it included Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, and Nick Fury; Scarlett Johansson said there were thirty-two heroes together (an oddly specific number); Anthony Mackie said there was a scene with everyone (specifically only mentioning Tom Holland and Dave Bautista); there's a Reddit claim that Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana also confirmed an "everyone" scene, but I couldn't find a link to confirm that

There's no reason to doubt that this scene will occur, although in what context I'm not sure (is it a
fight? a funeral? a wedding?--all have been speculated). There's no point in celebrating the three
phases of the MCU without a scene like this, although logistically I'm sure it was a nightmare to
arrange.

• In a now deleted post Nerdist said that Rocket and Hulk were going to form a bond (which makes sense, as there's something Grootish about the Hulk)

This idea is fairly innocuous and without further information there's no reason to either stridently
deny it or indulge in rampant speculation--I don't think the idea of the friendship really informs us
about the plot.

• Doctor Strange helps Iron Man and Cap's relationship (this should be taken with a grain of salt as the comment was made before the filming of Infinity War in 2016)

This is something oft repeated, but it's not easy to imagine how Strange could impact their
relationship given that he's dusted. Take this with a grain of salt until we have a better idea
how this would work (it might even mean that his action, his self-sacrifice to save Tony, is the
catalyst)--I've long thought his sacrifice of the Time Stone was a moral decision, unrelated to what the best outcome against Thanos was--he may have even lied about seeing a 'winning' scenario.

• Vin Diesel comments in Mark Ruffalo's illicit video from the 10th anniversary MCU photo shoot about the Hulk and Groot fighting together

This could just be hyperbole from Diesel and I've heard nothing else about it.

• Tom Holland mentioned that Doctor Strange talks about the Quantum Realm at length--it does not sound like cut dialogue from Infinity War, so presumably is from the upcoming film

It's difficult to know in what context this could occur (see above)--when would Strange be in a position to discuss this with anyone (barring time travel, of course)? It's even possible Holland was confused or had read a fake script and Cumberbatch let him talk about something that's not in the film. I'll dismiss another leak here while I'm discussing both characters: there's an image floating around of a scene involving the two with a bit of dialogue in the background of a promo for Infinity War. We never see this scene in that film so people believe it's from Endgame, but if you really look at it, it's clearly a cut scene from Infinity War before Peter rushes off to save the unconscious Quill, Mantis, Drax, and Nebula after Thanos hits them with the Power Stone.

• Frigga could appear (her stylist was near the filming in Scotland and posted an image with the hashtag Infinity War)--in what context she would appear is unclear; Revenge of the Fans has picked up this idea very recently, but without providing additional information (suggesting it's simply from the same source)

If this is the case I'd expect her to appear either in flashbacks or a scene in Hel/Valhala (see below).

• Hela will appear (see the Ruffalo comment below, plus some Redditors claim to have seen her around the filming)

The exact same parameters apply as above (for where we would see her), but note the 'confirmation' for her appearance is pretty weak (there are no photos showing her and Ruffalo's comment could be about Ragnarok).

• Aaron-Taylor Johnson (Quicksilver) was rumoured to have been spotted on the set by a British tabloid, but their report is based on a now-deleted Spanish blog; it's also been denied by Johnson

Johnson might be playing coy or adhering to an NDA, but the source of the information is very bad.
If he does appear it would be via time travel or a flashback.

Despite Atwell saying "Not that I know of" when asked if she was in the film, and that Peggy's narration from the trailer doesn't guarantee anything (because the dialogue is all from Winter Soldier), given the 1940s set (see below) it's probable--whether as a flashback, dream, or time travel we can't say yet.

• Howard Stark scenes were shot (likely in connection with what follows below)

No one else has echoed this THS report, but it hasn't been retracted--this could be a recording that's
being watched as opposed to time travel or B.A.R.F. The purpose of these shots is probably related
to the Space Stone, because Howard invests reactor technology based on it in the 60s/70s (cf).

• There was a casting call for extras for scenes from the 1960s

I believe this is also Howard Stark-related (with an outside chance of Peggy); this would also be a
flashback, I believe.

• There was a casting call for extras for the 1970s (hippy women specifically, which makes the scene a bit hard to place)

This could be more Howard Stark, but with an outside chance for Hank Pym (again quite possibly
from a recording or flashback).

• We had rumours that Yondu and the Ancient One would return; these initially came from a Disney promotional display, which is ambiguous evidence at best, but the latter idea was backed up by the always talkative Ruffalo (Hulk) who said he enjoyed working with both Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett (Hela)--the Swinton comment can only be from Endgame (something that was confirmed in November in what sounds like a brief cameo); Yondu remains a possibility given that we may see the Guardians characters in the past

Swinton was only there for one day of filming, so it's a cameo and presumably via flashback or time travel given that she dies in Doctor Strange. As for Yondu, it's entirely possible he reappears (with the same context in play). For Cate Blanchett, see above.

• There were comments by Frank Grillo (Crossbones) who hinted his character will return despite having been blown up in Civil War

Assuming he isn't just trolling (something Grillo is fully capable of doing), this would be in flashbacks or via time travel.

• The weirdest rumour is about Harley Keener (the kid from Iron Man 3)--the link is from IMDB, but the actual source is the actor being in Atlanta (where Endgame was filming) at the time (something revealed by his Instagram)

I don't know why they'd waste time on this character and the evidence for him appearing is incredibly slight, so I'm doubtful (it's far more likely he was there for the 10th anniversary celebration, which occurred at that time).

Set Photos (link)

Battle of New York:
-Cap, Tony, Scott, and Bruce are together; the Ant-Man suit is his latest and it's 'current' Tony (as
identified by his blondish hair), while Cap is wearing his 2012 gear and carrying some sort of baton
with CGI dots on it (there's no telling if it's 2012 Hulk or the 'present' version)
-'Current' Tony is in the gear of a 2012 SHIELD soldier
-2012 'past' Tony, Thor, and Loki are inside a building (the latter is sometimes Tom
Hiddleston's stunt double); this seems connected to the Tony-as-a-SHIELD-agent photo

1940s:
-A street shot with era cars--no actors are included in the shot, although there were reports of Chris
Evans on the set

San Francisco
-Scott running through a suburban neighbourhood in his civies (the same outfit he has on when he
arrives at Avengers HQ in the teaser, as well as when he's looking about that same neighbourhood in
the trailer); this is almost certainly his return to Cassie's neighbhourhood

Unknown:
-Cap and Nat at Landmark Jr.'s Diner (the latter has longer hair); it's not clear where this is (other than, presumably the U.S.)

Reports & Fan Sightings

Thor-related:

• While filming in Scotland a pub was turned into the Cormorant and Tun (this does not have any comic book or other connection that I can find--if Bird & Barrel means something to someone, let me know!), with Tony, Bruce, Thor, and possibly Nat seen filming in it (the former three were reported by a local paper, the latter was mentioned by a fan)
• Valkyrie was spotted in Scotland during filming; reports had she, Bruce, Thor, and Rocket filming in Durham Castle (where Thor's dream in Ultron was shot). It was at this time that Frigga's hairstylist made her post (mentioned above)

The theory thrown at these elements is that Durham Castle is being used again as Hel (the Norse
realm of the dead), while other locations are going to be the New Asgard that Thor intends to
establish in Norway (cf Ragnarok). Hela was reported to be on set (see above), which would also
suggest a visit to the realm of the dead. The problem with the Norway association is that the pub has an English name--there's the possibility the group is in Scotland (Vision and Scarlet Witch were during Infinity War, after all), but for what purpose is unknown.

Other:

• Zoe Saldana posted a video where she and Karen Gillan were dressed in their 2014-era Guardians costumes, suggesting either time travel to that era or flashbacks
• A scene on a ship featuring Tony, Cap, Nat, Carol, and Pepper was shot in the presence of a fan (if it had included Nebula I'd be tempted to say it's Tony's rescue from the Benatar, but she was not present)

This is all very interesting, but without further context it's difficult to make heads or tails out of it.

Ten months ago (a few days before Infinity War's wide release, but on the same day of its world
premiere), a now deleted Redditor posted a leak, all of which was accurate about Infinity
War (albeit somewhat vague and given the date, slightly questionable as a leak), but included this for Endgame:

[Endgame] draws inspiration from LOTR: Return of the King and is very thematically similar to it. And it features a Sam-Frodoesque team up between two heroes and THOR plays the role of Aragorn.

The poster also says only two of the original Avengers survive. The latter, if true, could imply the
Stones are like the One Ring and must be destroyed. Who would play the roles of the titular hobbits?
Presumably characters who are not heavy-hitters, since they would be needed for the Aragorn-like
heavy lifting, although perhaps it's the main duo (Iron Man and Cap). As for the battle storyline,
there were two casting calls specifically calling for Vikings (one in late March and again in mid-
November); then a call for 'warriors' in December. It's believed this is all connected to the idea that
Thor is gathering an army (ala Aragorn). We should take all this with a large grain of salt, however.
If the parallel is exact, incidentally, it means there is no defeating Thanos in any context--at least
not directly. That means the heroes have to engage in a distracting move (ala Aragorn) while the
true strike against him is made (the Hobbits). As it stands, this is purely speculative.

There was a Chinese post (from a supposed reviewer) in January that's recently made it's way to Reddit. At first I thought it could be partially authentic, however, problems became apparent as it borrowed extensively from an old 4chan rumour from last May (which created all sorts of spinoffs--I talked about it in my original speculation article). I also questioned how this person could have seen the film--he doesn't claim to work for an effects company (typically the 'source' for these rumours), or have heard about it from a friend/colleague, so the only option would be as a test screener, but they sign NDA's and there are serious consequences for breaking them--yet months later his material is still up and he's still writing about the MCU. The reason, as it turns out, that all of this is fishy is because it's completely fake. The original poster was able to edit their work without having the date change (his original post from January is riddled with errors). For clarity I've left a detailed description of it below.

Speculation

From what's been said one of the goals of the film is to bring the original Avengers back together
again--they haven't been together since Age of Ultron (four years and ten MCU movies ago) --but
even more than that, to truly become a team. This means a lot of things, but the biggest is
undoubtedly putting their egos aside for one another.

So why time travel? Why not a straightforward adventure where the Avengers defeat Thanos and use
the Infinity Gauntlet to undo what's been done (exactly the idea shown in the Disney shareholder
meeting)? I think it's related to stakes--if Thanos could be defeated while in possession of the
Gauntlet, then the failure of the heroes in Infinity War is simply due to tactics--something true to life, but not very interesting. It would also rob Thanos of his victory, something a well-constructed antagonist deserves. Defeat builds character and for the Avengers it should be something that evolves them forward. This is why I believe the plan that ultimately succeeds is preventing Thanos from ever completing the Gauntlet in the first place--preventing the Snap from ever occurring.

Previously I discussed the idea of the Avengers bouncing around in the timeline to collect the Stones
(or at least most of them), but in truth simply denying Thanos the Space Stone changes his entire
plan--he cannot teleport to Knowhere without it (to grab the Reality Stone), which is how he gains
the Soul Stone (and then goes to Titan for the Time Stone and to Earth for the Mind Stone). This
would leave him with only the Power Stone, but one Stone likely isn't enough to win (we may also get a vigorous defense of Xandar to prevent even that, but I doubt it since I think they will defeat Thanos in the present of when Infinity War occurred--again, minimal impact on the MCU timeline prior to Infinity War).

If this is the case, why not simply get the Space Stone from Asgard before the events of Ragnarok?
I'd assume it's both to ensure Hela remains defeated, but also to avoid the butterfly effect on history. So why the Battle of New York? Is it to convince Loki not to steal it in the future? Is it to tell Thor not to take it to Asgard? Or is it simply to steal it? Stealing it from Asgard would seem to be much simpler, but presumably if they did Thor (and Loki) would pursue them, so I have to think it's about persuading them to allow it to be taken.

While there are many suggestions about the Avengers bouncing around through time, the only era-specific things we've seen are from The Avengers and Guardians, but the latter outfits would have served Gamora and Nebula in the former context as well (this would also fit an appearance from The Ancient One, Crossbones, and Yondu), although it doesn't get us to the 40s, 60s, or 70s (which may well be flashbacks). What I'm saying is, we can only be sure of time travel to one specific event.

The time travel doesn't reveal the story of what happens to about half the other characters--there's no sign of modern Thor, Nat, Clint, Rocket, Nebula, etc in the past--just Cap, Tony, Hulk, and Ant-Man--so what are the others doing? There's nothing official to work on, just repeated rumours about Thor gathering an army. This idea, the army, only makes sense if they are going to battle a Thanos who has one Stone or none, but thus far there's nothing to confirm it.

There was a (different) 4chan leak in January and while I don't believe it (the guy claimed to work for a fired FX company who worked on the films), one of the things it said is that Endgame would try to avoid the continuity effects seen in Back to the Future. One doesn't need the 4channer to understand why this is: the Russo's (and Feige, the MCU, and Disney) have no interest in invalidating any of the previous films--those movies must remain 'real/authentic' after the events of Endgame in order to maintain their relevance. Given that, whatever time travel the Avengers are doing has to be done in such a way that the only thing they are impacting are Thanos and the events of Infinity War.

Fake Chinese Leak Breakdown

I mentioned above that this post has been revealed to be fake (it's proven the guy who wrote it has been changing it over time while maintaining the original date stamp of January--the original post is riddled with errors). This explains, I think, why 3/4's of it is in broken English when translated, but the remainder is perfect English. Despite the ability to edit his work, he incredibly left lines like, "The Ancient One is likely to appear in the Avengers 4 because of the true role of the interpretation [of] time gems"--if this is a review of the film, how does he not know if the Ancient One appears or not? Anyway, here is the gist of his post (with me bringing up a few key points as I go).

• In the immediate aftermath of Infinity War, Thor searches for Thanos but can’t find him and returns to Norway; Rocket (who is in Wakanda) goes to meet Thor and the two decide to look for Tony, the Guardians, and the surviving Asgardians
• On Titan Nebula and Tony a need of parts for the Benatar, so go looking for the remains of the Milano—it’s on this journey that Tony records his message for Pepper
• Thor’s hunt for Tony begins with Pepper—she joins him in his search; Rocket wants them to get the pod they left on Nidavellir in order to send a message to the Benatar—when they arrive they hear Tony’s message, but he isn’t receiving when they try to reply; they follow the signal back to the Benatar and collect the two heroes. Thor brings them back to Avengers HQ via the Bifrost (bringing the ship with them)--this is the scene of the Avengers on the lawn looking up
• After Tony and Steve meet for the first time since Civil War we transition into the Captain Marvel post-credit scene. Afterwards they discuss what to do, but Tony and Pepper decline to partake—Tony says there’s no way to beat Thanos
• We get the shareholder meeting scene beginning with Nebula saying she knows where Thanos would go
• Carol info dumps about herself and realizing her powers came from the Space Stone they think they can destroy the Stones with her (much like Scarlet Witch did with the Mind Stone in Infinity War)
• The Avengers (minus Tony and Banner) get ready to take the Benatar out (Banner staying behind to help Tony out, whose health suffered while on the Benatar)—we then get the scene from the shareholders meeting where Rocket asks who has been to space before
• They arrive on Titan 2, fight Thanos, and lose [that's the Reddit translation, the original is more ambiguous--suggesting what follows is all that happens]. Thanos destroys the gauntlet and the infinity stones to stop anyone from ever changing the past--this is a problem because Thanos still has the Gauntlet in the lego set where he attacks Avengers HQ
• The Avengers Endgame intro plays
• In defeat the Avengers return home; Steve and Rhodey go back to the military to help re-establish peace and order; Thor leaves to go find the Asgardians; Carol goes to help the rest of the planets; Rocket remains with the Avengers; Banner and Tony have been conducting experiments on how to bring back the decimated, but cease that work to put their efforts towards helping the survivors [the latter is via the original]
• [Thanos has hidden himself in another dimension or some such and no longer exists in this universe]
• Scott Lang appears on video (ala the first teaser)—he’s just escaped from the Quantum Realm via a time vortex. He received help from the Quantum Kingdom and ants [from the original it seems as though the ants opened the portal for him via his remote commands]. Scott explains that he ended up in parallel universe where he went to see his daughter Cassie, but she did not recognize him. That's before he ended up here in his own universe--this would contradict the Russo's saying no alternate realities
• Tony decides to make use of Quantum tech and Scott unshrinks Hank Pym's lab; Tony wants to visit these parallel world and he makes suits and equipment for the Quantum Realm [This idea matches the 4chan plot; it's left out of the Reddit translation, but the original does say the point of this is to get the Stones from other realities]
• It’s not explained when he left, but Banner returns showing his ability to control the Hulk [The 4chan post includes this unification for the character]
• Nat goes to find Hawkeye and finds him in Japan with a female apprentice
• Thor has been trying to reestablish control of the nine realms to form an army big enough to fight Thanos. He goes to the ruins of Asgard and finds that it has become a part of Hel. Hela is there and he tries to get her help [The idea of Thor assembling an army matches 4chan]
• [Not included in the Reddit translation is the need for the group to go back to the Battle of New York, the Battle of Wakanda, to face Thanos in his base in outer space--I'm guessing this means where he's residing in Guardians of the Galaxy--and finally, go to a place they don't know and meet a very important person]
• [The reviewer says this ends the middle portion of the film]
• [There's a back story from a novelization that gets slammed into the review ad hoc, but amongst that material is a character poorly translated as "Lorez Peck" from whom Thanos gets the Mind Stone prior to the events of The Avengers]
• Thanos has been watching the Avengers and knowing that neither Carol nor Thor are away, decides to finish them off; the Avengers think about escaping into the Quantum Realm, but Scott explains that if the Quantum Tunnel is destroyed while in the Quantum Realm, they'll be stuck there for decades (just like Janet Van Dyne)
• Tony calls to Thor and Captain Marvel and Carol arrives with the Nova Corps while Thor arrives with Hela’s undead Army and the remaining Asgardians via the Bifrost; Banner and Thor protect Quantum Tunnel and face off against Thanos; Vision then arrives, recreated from the parts Shuri saved in Infinity War; he and Rhodey stay behind to fight while the rest of the Avengers go into the Quantum Realm

From there he offers no coherent conclusion--no description of Act Three--it simply speculates interminably (there's something about the Soul Stone and a sacrifice, but it's completely speculative). What we have, really, is a farrago of various theories given the author's own particular twist--with actual information edited in as it appears. Here are a few things he missed: 1)We're lacking the Hawkeye/daughter scene, 2) We don't see the Ancient One (he's apparently unaware her appearance has been confirmed), 3) There's very little interaction between Steve and Tony, 4) There's no attempt to thematically touch on "All Good Things" (the TNG episode), 5)  The plot shares a lot of similarities to the Secret Wars comic where Doctor Strange assembles an Infinity Gauntlet from different universes--this would run contrary to the Russo's saying the story wasn't heavily indebted to existing comicbook material (and Secret Wars is not an obscure or unrelated comic to borrow from).

That's more than enough time spent on a busted theory!

Conclusions

What's the structure of what we've seen? What story has been presented in the material we've been
handed? Let's break it down chronologically as best we can with the clues in the footage:

• We open with Clint teaching his daughter how to use the bow (we know this is early because Clint doesn't have his Ronin hairdo yet)--my assumption is that she then gets Snapped--I think the film opens this way to touch base with Hawkeye (absent from the MCU since Civil War) and illustrate what turns him into Ronin and shows us his emotional stakes for the film--it's also the only scene set before the events of Infinity War
• We check in with both Tony and Cap shortly after the Snap--the former is trying to get home on the Benatar with his new ally, Nebula; the Avengers are trying to deal with the catastrophic event--having recovered Fury's pager and working to continually send its signal (we need this scene to show what's happened in the immediate aftermath of the Snap)--for time jump fans like Conrad this is a direct slap in the face to his original theory
• Before the Tony situation is resolved Carol Danvers arrives at the Avengers HQ in response to the pager; they explain to her what's occurred (we know this is early because Cap still has his beard--I believe it's pre-Tony because of that--the beard disappears quite early)
• Ant-Man escapes the Quantum Realm (presumably by growing big, as he did in Ant-Man) to discover the horror of the Snap; he grabs Luis' van, which contains the Quantum Machine, and drives to Avengers HQ (I believe this happens early because Nat still has the short blond hair and because Scott is present when the HQ is attacked in the trailer)
• Tony is able to Macgyver he and Nebula home (I believe this is the scene on the lawn with the four Avengers looking up--I believe Carol has been airbrushed out)--I think this happens early because of what's said in the shareholder meeting and because we know the film heavily focuses on the relationship between Cap and Tony (which can't be the case if it doesn't start early)
• We have the debate about what to do about the situation with Carol wanting to kill Thanos; the group agrees and they all board the Benatar (this fits the context of what we've been told from the shareholders meeting)
• I believe it's that this point that the HQ is attacked--the explosive scene we see with Ant-Man from the trailer being evidence of this (plus no one is wearing their fancy Quantum gear, so it's earlier in the film); my assumption is that Thanos does enough damage to somehow put their activity on-ice for a long period of time (this assumption is based on Nat's transition from short blond hair to shoulder-length red hair)
• It's presumably at this stage Cap is either part of or holding support group meetings; Thor is likely creating New Asgard in Norway, etc--this is conjecture on my part, however
• About a year after this setback (give or take, again based on Nat's hair), something happens to change their situation--what I'm not sure (the arrival of the Quantum Machine would make sense, but if Ant-Man arrives early that can't be the catalyst); it's around this time that Hawkeye is collected by Nat (again, her hair) and, afterwards, we get the group shot of everyone in their Quantum suits
• The finale, or certainly towards the end, we get the big group shot referenced above; in what context (battle, wedding, funeral) remains to be seen

That, it seems, is that--at least from the trailers/teasers etc. The various leaks we've had don't provide context, so placing them anywhere is quite arbitrary. I'd guess, given Tony's blond hair/older look, that the time travel is in the third act, but otherwise there are no indications (none are in their Quantum suits, but all have the dots on them for effects to paint them on). I will say that the shareholder leak and the Avengers HQ lego attack toy really makes it hard to sort out the chronology--an early failure to attack Thanos in space is fine, but how does that jive with the group being attacked at home by him? Dramatically, I'd think, the attack on the HQ would be late in the film--perhaps after the time travel--a last desperate attempt. An attack on Thanos that fails would definitely excuse the long gap between their post-Snap activity and a year later. Perhaps the Thanos attack destroys the Quantum Machine Scott brings them and that's what causes the delay in action (Tony has to try to rebuild it or some such). I have to give credit to Marvel, because I'm really not sure even after all the marketing and leaks.

Character Death

Let's just briefly address the death of characters, since it's a popular topic. Most people believe, for contract reasons, that Cap is doomed. A smaller number, for dramatic reasons (and for the MCU to come full circle), believe that Tony dies. I've long been in the minority in rejecting the end of Captain America. Not only is Chris Evans one of the younger MCU stars (he'll be 38 this year), he's also one of its most bankable stars--why let him go? Dramatically, too, Cap sacrificing himself has already happened--he did it in his first film and has been willing to do it in every film--so what's achieved by having that happen again? I think the Russo's have no interest in going down that obvious road with Cap, whatever his situation is (particularly as it so strongly echoes what's happened in the comics--remember what the Russo's said about comicbook influences above).

Iron Man is a very different situation. RDJ will turn 54 this year, has taken on the Uncle Ben role for Peter Parker, is incredibly expensive, and is the spark that launched the MCU--a heroic death would be an excellent way to wrap-up the first three phases of Marvel (granting that he was willing to make that sacrifice in The Avengers). With that said, we had a wedding with Pepper teased in Infinity War and we know she survives Endgame, so it's entirely possible he survives and retires--but I do think his death is the most dramatic one you could have in the film.

As for the other OG Avengers, older actors like Don Cheadle (55 this year), Mark Ruffalo (52 this year), and Jeremy Renner (48 this year) could easily be written off--none support their own films and, other than Ruffalo, are particularly popular. However, them passing away doesn't mean much unless there's a strong context within the film for it.

I don't think Nat or Thor are in any danger (they are turning 35 and 36 this year)--Ragnarok saved the latter's character and the former has a film coming up--even if it's a prequel I don't think killing Black Widow would help marketing it. Nebula and Rocket are in Guardians 3, so they are safe, Okoye will be in Black Panther 2, so she's also safe, and there's no doubt that Captain Marvel will survive.

So what's my prediction for who could die? I'd say Iron Man, although I don't feel absolutely certain about it. Others, like Hulk, might also die (a way to take a shot at Universal and their lack of cooperation, perhaps), but I don't think the film is really focused on death--that's what Infinity War was for.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)