When Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) viewed over 14 million potential futures in Avengers: Infinity War, it created plenty of opportunities for fans to speculate on how the Avengers will eventually defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin).
One fan theory, in particular, has been gaining some traction online and it might actually carry some clout with it. Shared to Reddit by /u/Smegsaiah, this theory says that Strange made sure to pay extra attention to the time he handed his Time Stone over to Thanos.
While most fans theories — like those defending Star-Lord's punching of Thanos, waking him out his Mantis-induced slumber — think that the group had to perform in a certain way for the winning future to play out, this new theory says time is the key rather than the actions themselves.
The theory states that when Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) entered the Quantum Realm during the post-credits scene in Ant-Man and the Wasp, the odds that Thanos' snap would have occurred during the few seconds Lang was in the separate dimension are practically unbelievable. Because of that, the theory states that Strange was just holding off Thanos as long as he could so that Thanos' Decimation would happen right as Lang entered the Quantum Realm.
Though the theorizer doesn't go into detail as to why Strange needed Lang to get trapped in the Quantum Realm, the options are virtually endless. In the limited time we've seen the Quantum Realm in the Ant-Man franchise, it's clear that time and space certainly moves differently where Lang's trapped. Though she only appeared in a flesh for a few moments, it's clear that Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet van Dyne has been deeply affected by the space.
Since we know that Lang exits the Quantum Realm — more than likely pretty early — in Avengers: Endgame, the dimension could very well play a big role in helping defeat the Mad Titan whether it's something they use to trap the villain or use the mysterious location's unique energy source to boost their respective powers.
Avengers: Endgame is set to hit theaters on April 26, 2019.