It’s one of the most quotable and “memeable” moments from Avengers: Infinity War. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) uses the Time Stone to go ahead in time to view 14,000,605 future scenarios in which the Avengers and company battle Thanos (Josh Brolin). When Strange “comes back,” he informs the group he’s with on Titan that they win in only one of the futures he viewed. We’re not Vegas bookies by any means, but something tells us that a 1 out of 14 million chance of winning doesn’t return that great of odds. But what if he’s somehow wrong?
Here in the ComicBook.com newsroom, we got to talking. What if — just if — there happens to be more than one winning future? After all, there could have been several winning futures, except it’d spell out a grim fate for the Master of the Mystic Arts.
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We were theorizing that yes, there are more winning futures, but Strange is unable to see them because somewhere, somehow, Strange dies.
If you think back to Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange (2016), one of the biggest pieces of supporting evidence is the scene between Strange and the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) at the hospital. As the Ancient One’s astral projection leaves her body, Strange follows suit and chases his mentor to a balcony.
There, the Ancient One reveals that using her access to the Dark Dimension and the Time Stone, she was able to go forward in time but, for whatever reason, she was never able to look past the moment in time they’re currently experiencing. The Ancient One realizes she’s never been able to look past the moment because that’s when her life ends, which seemingly makes the character more at peace with her own death.
Using the same logic, it’s completely possible more winning futures exist for the Avengers and Guardians, Doctor Strange was just unable to see them because he died before the good guys won.
Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Evangeline Lilly (The Wasp), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Don Cheadle (War Machine), and Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon) amongst others.
Do you think we’re onto something with this theory? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8th, 2019 and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th.
