As the events of 2012’s The Avengers take on fresh significance in light of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ ongoing fight against Thanos, 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and its one-movie antagonist seem to have only faded further in relevance. But while the Avengers’ second outing may not be quite as important a chapter in the overarching MCU narrative as, say, Infinity War, a new theory suggests that the upcoming Avengers: Endgame could reveal that the feature’s villainous A.I. has a bigger part to play in the superhero saga than we’ve been led to believe.
One reason that Age of Ultron has been getting some renewed attention lately is for a line from Tony Stark which seems to tease the title of next year’s release. “That, up there, that’s the endgame,” Iron Man says in reference to the alien forces that will eventually come to Earth. It’s worth remembering that these words are heard as part of Tony’s speech in which he tries to justify the creation of Ultron as a defensive measure, and now that the threat is finally here, the speculation goes that our hero may try to bring back his dangerous creation and use him for his original purpose.
For evidence, the theory draws on a piece of concept art seen in the Infinity War Day One video which shows Tony standing opposite a collection of armors reminiscent of the Iron Legion. Since Infinity War offered no opportunity for such a shot, it’s suggested that we may have actually caught a glimpse of what’s to come in the sequel.
This is all just speculation for the time being, but it’s hardly the first theory to argue that the big bad of Age of Ultron might make a comeback, and if Red Skull can feature in Infinity War, then perhaps it’s not the most farfetched of ideas, either. Regardless, we’ll find out if there’s any truth to the notion when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.