New Avengers 4 Fan Theory Suggests Deadpool Could Help Defeat Thanos

There are a lot of questions surrounding Marvel’s upcoming Avengers 4, but one of the biggest mysteries is which superhero will be the key to defeating the almighty Thanos? It’s a big job, after all, as the hero will need to not only take down Thanos but also help resurrect the lives of those lost in the deadly snap at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.

While the job might go to Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, as Nick Fury called her in the third film’s post-credits scene, a new fan theory explains why it might actually be the sarcastic Deadpool who saves the world instead.

According to the theory from Reddit, Ant-Man would be able to access various alternate realities due to his journey into the Quantum Realm. One of these alternate realities could be the universe in which Deadpool resides. Fans may recall that at the end of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson gains access to a working version of Cable’s time travel device. If Ant-Man could find Deadpool and convince him to lend him the machine, he would be able to take it back to the MCU and use it to go back in time, allowing him to stop Thanos from killing half of the universe. (For the sake of argument, we'll conveniently ignore that both Cable and Thanos are played by Josh Brolin.)

If this theory were true, it would explain all of the time travel and flashbacks that fans are expecting in the Russo brothers’ Avengers 4. It would also throw the fun talent of Paul Rudd and Ryan Reynolds together into one MCU movie, which is a collaboration that we’re all dying to see. Unfortunately, however, there’s no way that these events can actually happen—at least not in time for Avengers 4.

Disney is currently in the process of purchasing 21st Century Fox, which would allow Deadpool and the other X-Men characters to appear in the MCU films. But the deal isn’t finished yet, which means that it's highly unlikely we'll see Deadpool helping Ant-Man any time soon. Avengers 4 has already been filmed, after all, and the earliest this deal will be completed is January 2019. So the timeline doesn't work.

The good news is that if the purchase does happen, we could see Deadpool make an appearance in the next MCU film—although we still don’t know which other Marvel heroes will still be around to welcome him.