'Avengers: Infinity War': Robert Downey Jr. Says Only Hawkeye Can Defeat Thanos

Right now, there are two big dilemmas facing Marvel fans, in regards to Avengers: Infinity War's storyline:

1. How will the Marvel Cinematic Universe beat Thanos and the power of the Infinity Stones?
2. Where the hell is Hawkeye in the midst of this?

Well, select members of the Avengers: Infinity War cast and crew gathered for a red carpet fan event at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. During the event, one of the questions they were asked was which of the MCU heroes could take on Thanos and win.

While director Joe Russo gave a deep answer about how the Avengers are a team, and therefore it would take a team's bond to overcome this foe, Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. had a more... crowd-pleasing answer:

"Here's my guess - because I haven't read the script [Laughter]. Because Jeremy Renner is not in the poster, I think he's the only one that can beat Thanos! I think it's Hawkeye! [Cheers] No, I think it's Jeremy: only Jeremy can defeat him [laughs]."

If that wasn't cheeky enough, Joe Russo added one more troll-style fan tease, yelling out "Hawkeye IS Thanos!" to big reaction from the fan rabble gathered there.

This is all in jest, of course, but the question of where Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye has been hiding during the marking and promotion of Avengers: Infinity War is a fair one. Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye has been a fan-favorite and cosplay staple of the MCU since his first full appearance in The Avengers six years ago, and there have been so many rumors about some game-changing developments with Hawkeye that fans have been waiting to see anything official that would confirm what is true or not.

As of right now, the leading theory is that Hawkeye will be on a mission of utmost importance during Infinity War - possibly being tasked with obtaining and/or securing the all-important Soul Stone. At this point, the issue of #WhereIsHawkeye has become such a fixation - we have to wonder if the eventual reveal of Renner's storyline in the film will be satisfying enough to all the fans' whose imaginations have been running wild about this.

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.