‘Avengers: Endgame’: Dead Marvel Character Possibly Spotted Hidden in the Trailer

The finale of Avengers: Infinity War saw the demise of many beloved Marvel characters, leaving fans to speculate how the characters could potentially return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a future film. One eagle-eyed fan thinks that the departed Groot might have already emerged in the teaser for Avengers: Endgame.

The teaser for the film seemingly depicts Tony Stark floating through space after his bout with Thanos, yet, if you look closely at one shot, it almost appears as though Groot‘s wooden face can be seen behind him.

While it might comfort fans to think that Groot isn’t as dead as we thought, this likely isn’t the Guardian of the Galaxy on the ship, but is the result of pareidolia, or the phenomenon in which the human brain attempts to interpret stimuli into recognizable forms or shapes. It’s hard to deny that the figure looks similar to Groot’s face, though is actually the result of a headrest with specific lights and shadows creating what appears to be the fallen hero.

Groot’s first live-action appearance was in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, with the gentle giant immediately winning over legions of fans with his innocent demeanor and immense strength. The hero also delivered audiences one of the film’s most heart-wrenching sequences with his efforts to protect his teammates and the utterance “We are Groot” instantly causing all of us to get choked up. These actions hit us even harder when we thought Groot had been killed only for the film’s final scenes to show us that a baby Groot had been planted, allowing him to live on in a new form.

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Groot had only aged to be a toddler, delivering us countless adorable moments of the hero essentially learning how to become a sentient being.

Avengers: Infinity War may have given audiences one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire MCU, once again thanks to Groot. Alongside many other characters, Groot bit the dust when Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to kill half of the living universe, though not until uttering one final “I am Groot.” What really took this moment to all-new levels of depressing is when Guardians director James Gunn confirmed Groot’s final line, delivered to Rocket, was, “Dad.”

Groot is definitely sawdust, but in our hearts, we like to hope he’s alive out there somewhere. Fans will potentially see his return when Avengers: Endgame lands in theaters on April 26, 2019.