Executive producer Michael Grillo reveals that Doctor Strange’s Ancient One will make an appearance in Avengers 4.
As much as the Russo brothers would love to keep Avengers 4 under wraps, there are gems like producer Michael Grillo accidentally spilling the beans and allowing Marvel fans some clues to work with. During a panel at the Austin Film Festival (as reported by CBR), Grillo mentioned actress Tilda Swinton who had never been confirmed for Avengers 4, thus revealing a major spoiler.
Now if you can recall, Swinton played the Ancient One, Doctor Strange’s mentor who dies after being wounded by Kaecilius and the zealots. The news that the Ancient One, who died, will have a role in Avengers 4 bolsters the already circulating rumor that the way the Avengers will fix Thanos’ finger snap erasure is to go back in time. The time traveling theory seems even more significant considering that Frank Grillo, who played Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, also confirmed that his return to the MCU would be through flashbacks.
And if you’re not excited about this news, consider the wealth of information that the Ancient One has when it comes to the Time Stone, which she protected for ages. Learning more about the Infinity Stones via time-traveling efforts (which is yet another theory) could help the remaining Avengers stop the Thanos snap from ever happening. That way everyone will be back, and we can stop crying about our Marvel losses.
So far, Avengers 4 is looks like a gathering of information via time travel and possibly some unexpected cameos. We may see Marvel characters from the past we never thought we would ever see again. And those long-gone characters could be the obstacles our Avengers will have to hurdle over on their new mission, since a lot of the dearly departed are villains.
Unfortunately, the Ancient One is not set to have much screen time, as Grillo expressed the scheduling struggles they had in filming that included only being able to secure Swinton for one day. Even if the Ancient One doesn’t have a significant role in the upcoming film, I’m sure that the information that she will part with during that time will be invaluable in saving the world.