'Avengers: Infinity War' Director Joe Russo Confirms The Soul Stone Theory
The director of Avengers: Infinity War may have just confirmed a popular fan theory and hinted at major plot for Avengers 4. Joe Russo, part of the directing duo with his brother Anthony Russo, appeared at an Iowa high school's Q&A to answer questions about the latest Marvel film, and in the process, dropped what could be a big Avengers 4 plot bomb.
Major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War follow.
Where does Thanos (Josh Brolin) end up after he makes the snap heard around the universe? It's not exactly present day, because we see him joined by a young Gamora (Ariana Greenblatt), appearing as she did when he first plucked her out of her home planet after massacring her people. And it's not the past, as Gamora asks Thanos if he had "done it."
"Yes," he wearily replies.
"And what was the cost?" she timidly asks.
"Everything," Thanos says, tears welling in his eyes.
Thanos had just sacrificed his daughter to acquire the Soul Stone, losing the only thing he's ever loved. So that seems like it could be the end for Gamora (Zoe Saldana), right? Maybe not, according to a popular Infinity War fan theory. The theory posits that after being thrown to her death in Vormir, Gamora may have been squirreled away to Soulworld, a pocket dimension that, in the comics, acts as a sort of purgatory for souls captured by Adam Warlock. Soulworld is contained within the Soul Stone itself. And Joe Russo may have just confirmed that we'll see more of Soulworld in Avengers 4.
The intrepid students at Iowa City High School asked where that scene of Thanos and young Gamora took place, and Russo responded (via CBR.com):
"Yeah, it's — it's implied it's the Soul Stone. It's all orange around, then he's inside the Soul Stone with the amount of power that it took to snap his fingers."
When asked if that means that Gamora is in the Soul Stone, Russo answered, "She's, in fact is, yes." He continued:
"It was an attempt on our part, because we don't like two-dimensional roles or three-dimensional villains. ... [Thanos] said at the end 'It cost him everything,' and that it was the only thing he loved, which was Gamora, which is why we put him back with her at the end. I just want to reiterate with the audience that he does feel true emotion even though he is a monster."
This is a huge plot tease on Russo's part. By essentially confirming the existence of Soulworld and Gamora's appearance there, he may have just hinted that the rest of the Avengers and millions of people "killed" by the Infinity Gauntlet are actually stuck in this pocket dimension, too. And now, the mystery around Avengers 4 just became a little less opaque.
Avengers: Infinity War is currently playing in theaters. Avengers 4 opens in theaters on May 3, 2019.