Doctor Strange gave Thanos the Time Stone in Avengers: Infinity War, and a new theory tries to explain why. As one of the most powerful wizards in the universe, Doctor Strange is responsible for protecting one of the rarest artifacts in the universe: the Time Stone. The stone is housed inside of the Eye of Agomotto, one of Strange’s various magical relics.

This makes his position on what should be done with the stone once Thanos begins hunting the Infinity Stones down very clear, and he tells Tony Stark he’ll not hesitate to let him die in order to keep the stone out of Thanos’ possession. This is what makes his ultimate choice to go back on his word and give Thanos the Time Stone one of Infinity War’s most surprising moments. However, after seeing the 14 million different possible outcomes against the Mad Titan, he knows that this is the only path that leads to victory. But how can this be when half of all life across the universe no longer exists?

Well, the latest Screen Rant video takes a look at a theory trying to explain just this. According to the theory, Strange chose to save Tony’s life instead of safeguarding the stone because he’s vital to the “endgame” that Strange saw. It’s believed that the billionaire will help Scott Lang aka Ant-Man figure out how time travel can work by using the Quantum Realm.

If this theory is true, even to the smallest degree, and Tony is going to play a pivotal part in figuring out time travel, the marketing for Avengers: Endgame is not letting anyone know it. The footage has only shown him and Nebula (the two lone survivors from the battle on Titan) drifting in space with no food or water and almost no oxygen. Before Tony can help fix the universe, he’ll need to first get back home and reunite with the rest of his old pals.

Ant-Man on the other hand has been shown a bit in Avengers: Endgame’s marketing and does appear to have a vital role indeed. The mention of time vortexes in Ant-Man and the Wasp’s mid-credits scene is no coincidence, and his apparent archive message may be one of the true time travel hints Marvel has given us. Thankfully, more info on the highly anticipated closing chapter of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be available soon, but that won’t stop deep dives on prior MCU movies, especially Avengers: Infinity War, in the process.

MORE: Endgame Theory: The Avengers Are Making Their Own Infinity Stones

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