Note: This story speculates about the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, so if you have not seen Infinity War already, watch it and then come back.
Avengers: Infinity War had one hell of a climax that left millions of fans around the world miserable and shocked. After teasing the appearance of Thanos since 2012’s The Avengers, the Mad Titan finally appeared in his full glory (armour and all) and managed to get all the Infinity Stones after a few scuffles and went on to destroy half of the universe with a snap of his fingers. Of course, Thor buried his battle axe in Thanos’ chest, but he is not dead. Before the credits begin, “Thanos will return” appeared on the screen.
The life-forms who died as part of Thanos’ purge were about half of the Avengers, nearly all Guardians of the Galaxy and other characters also perished… or did they? Some say they have not died and merely transported to the Soul World, the world inside the Soul Stone. Some others say those characters did not merely die, they never existed in the first place. But all this is merely speculation. What do we know about Avengers 4 concretely? Not very much. If Avengers: Infinity War’s plot was kept under wraps, now the questions are even bigger. Did they really die? If yes, will they come back? If yes, how? Will Thanos be defeated? If yes, how? Let’s see what we can say for sure about the untitled Avengers 4 film.
1. Most, if not all, characters who died in Infinity War will return somehow
I think part of the reason the deaths at the end of the film did not have the intended effect on some (including me) was because we know most of these characters are not really dead. Come on, Black Panther is one of the most successful films in the franchise. Spider-man: Homecoming was successful. So were both of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Perhaps Time Stone will do its trick, but who will wield it now that Doctor Strange is dead? There is Reality Stone too.
That was about those characters who died at the end. What about earlier? Loki? Gamora? Heimdall? We do not know. Loki is one of the fan-favourites and may return. Gamora was seen as an infant in what looks like the realm inside the Soul Stone. Heimdall is likely dead since his character seems to have reached the end of his arc.