Avengers 4 ending theory: Will Tony Stark sacrifice himself to resurrect dead superheroes?

It is widely believed that the heroes and other lifeforms who disappeared in clouds of ash were actually transported to the realm inside the Soul Stone. If the Soul Stone has found its way back to Voromir and Red Skull, perhaps it would need another sacrifice to bring back the dead characters.

Robert Downey Jr’s contract with Marvel Studios ends with Avengers 4. It is likely that he will drop the mantle of Iron Man. There are many ways to do that. One of them is to retire Tony Stark. And the other is to kill him off. A sacrifice would be a great way to send off probably the most popular character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the de facto leader of MCU.

Doctor Strange, who had said he will make sure the Time Stone remains safe with him even if that meant the deaths of Tony and Peter Parker, backtracked on his threat/promise and gave away the Time Stone to Thanos to save Tony’s life. Strange is the one who had seen millions of realities among which there was only one in which the Avengers won. He knew what he was doing. Maybe he saw that Tony was the key to all this and it would take letting Thanos win once to defeat him once and for all?

The Russo brothers have said that they do care about stakes. They had told Variety earlier this year, “For us, there will always be stakes and the stakes have been progressing from film to film. And I think you can extrapolate that they will continue to deepen in Avengers 4.” Anthony said, “I will say this: There is a real commitment on our end to the stakes. Yes, this is a fantasy world, and yes, remarkable things can happen in a fantasy world, but…” Joe cuts in with, “They come at an incredibly high cost.”

One thing is certain, if this happens, it would be the biggest twist in MCU history by far. All the dead superheroes and half of universe’s life will not come anywhere near the enormity of Tony Stark’s death.

Avengers 4 releases on May 3, 2019.