'Avengers: Infinity War': Why Haven't We Seen the Soul or Reality Stones Yet?

Sleight of Hand

So far, the marketing for Avengers: Infinity War has been very purposeful in what it has shown, which has, as the same time, served as potentially big sleight of hand (pun). We've seen Thanos in possession of the Power Stone left with the Nova Corps after Guardians of the Galaxy; and we see him take possession of the Space Stone from the Tesseract Loki gives him. Thanos' Black Order agents set out to track down and steal the Time Stone from Doctor Strange, and the Mind Stone from The Vision; we don't know what happens with the Time Stone (though it doesn't look good from recent trailer images), but Vision manages to escape with Captain America's team to Wakanda, to make a final stand to protect the Mind Stone.

In all this, we still don't know how the Reality and Soul stones factor into the storyline, but there are a few breadcrumbs to follow:

Where Are the Remaining Stones?

Before we get into their role in Avengers: Infinity War, let's recap what we currently know about the Reality and Soul Stones:

Reality Stone - the Reality Stone or "Aether" was seen in Thor: The Dark World, when Jane Foster discovered it in a pocket dimension. Malekith wanted to use it to remake the universe into a Dark Elf world, but Thor stopped him. The Reality Stone was then given to The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) for safe keeping, since Asgard was already housing the Tesseract/Space Stone.

Soul Stone - No one has seen the Soul Stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and all fan theories about it (so far) have been wrong. It wasn't behind Hela's return in Thor: Ragnarok, and it wasn't the source of Wakanda's power in Black Panther. Right now, speculation is running rampant that Ant-Man and the Wasp or Captain Marvel could reveal it - but it actually might not show up until Avengers 4.

There's been no indication of what may happen with the Soul Stone, but we do know something about the Reality Stone's fate:

The Collector's Role

Late last year, some Avengers: Infinity War footage leaked revealed a very pivotal moment in the film, which definitely indicates the fate of the Reality Stone. WARNING: Potential Spoilers follow!

*

The leaked footage picked up after the already-confirmed moment when the Guardians of the Galaxy return to Knowhere, the outpost where The Collector's museum is located. The leaked footage revealed that when the Guardians arrive, The Collector is quite literally under Thanos' boot heel. While The Collector is attempting to bargain, Thanos isn't hearing it, remarking how pathetic the Collector really is.

*

END OF SPOILERS

From this scene, it's pretty easy to surmise that Thanos gets his hands on The Reality Stone.

Reality Bites

So if Thanos gets the Reality Stone, why have we not seen it in later scenes shown during the Avengers: Infinity War trailers? Simple: because even the reality of a movie scene can be altered.

There's been a lot of speculation that the scenes of Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet in Infinity War trailers are not all they intially seem to be. Scenes set in the climatic "Battle of Wakanda" for Vision's Mind Stone have shown Thanos only in possession of the Space and Power stones we know he has; however, CGI visual work could have removed additional stones from the gauntlet, namely the Time and Reality stones.

It follows that Thanos will have assembled a completed (or near-completed) Gauntlet by the time he's playing tug-of-war with Steve Rogers. We've seen Black Order member Ebony Maw torturing Doctor Strange for the Time Stone, and we know the Collector will similarly be trampled in Thanos' quest. With some images hinting at Vision losing his stone, it's a very real possibility that Avengers: Infinity War ends with Thanos snapping his fingers and erasing a portion of the universe - leaving just one small sliver of hope:

Soul Survivors

In Marvel Comics, the Soul Stone has been the saving grace of the universe, when the Infinity Gauntlet has posed dire threat. In certain cases, characters have escaped destruction by hiding in the Soul Stone, or have even used a fake replica of it to fool evil-doers into thinking they have the complete set, when they really don't. At the moment, there are a lot of fans who speculate that Avengers 4 could use a similar tactic.

If Thanos does use the power of the Infinity Gauntlet to murder half the universe at the end of Infinity War, then the reveal of the Soul Stone could explain how there are heroes left over to fight Thanos in Avengers 4. Set photos from the second half of Infinity War's story show the MCU heroes moving through key points in history - though we don't know if these are actual time travel moments, or something else. Given the powers of the Soul Stone, it's conceivable that some Avengers "spirits" will live on, even if their bodies don't.

MacGuffin Mulligans

Indeed, there's been rumor that one secret subplot of Avengers: Infinity War could be a secret mission to secure the Soul Stone, before Thanos does. Given the mystery surrounding the Soul Stone, there's several different ways that MacGuffin could be given a mulligan.

Right now, a lot of fans think that Hawkeye will find the Soul Stone, possibly sacrificing a lot to protect it. There's also the possibility that Thanos' reign of destruction prompts cosmic hero Captain Marvel from revealing herself to the larger MCU, with the Soul Stone in her possession. Finally, there's also a theory that Ant-Man and the Wasp will bring Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) back to the MCU after being trapped in the Quantum Realm, and that she could bring knowledge of the Soul Stone back along with her.

Any of these scenarios would have the desired story effect: giving the MCU heroes on last mulligan chance to use the Soul Stone to defeat Thanos.

Avengers 4 Quest

Whatever the case may be, we know that in Avengers 4 there will be a quest to of sorts to "set things right" after they presumably go so very wrong in Infinity War, and as stated, the Soul stone could be at the center of that quest.

The real question is what these set photos of Avengers 4's "flashback sequences" are really depicting. Directors The Russo Bros. have openly hinted at the root cause, stating that Iron Man's B.A.R.F. technology from Captain America: Civil War's sequence of Tony Stark reliving his own traumatic final day with his parents is the key. Fans have since speculated what that means, with one clear possibility taking the lead: that the Soul Stone may act like a more advanced version of the B.A.R.F. tech, allowing the Avengers to travel through various portions of their own life-lines, like Doctor Strange traveling through the Astral Plane. That power would allow them to revisit key point in the MCU saga, to steer events away from the cataclysmic events that occur in Infinity War.

(Photo: MattDemino @ DeviantART)

*******

How do you think the Soul Stone and Reality Stone will factor into Avengers: Infinity War and its connection to Avengers 4? Let us know in the comments!

Marvel Studios' Black Panther is now playing in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27, 2018. It is followed by Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Avengers 4 on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.