Did Gwyneth Paltrow Just Reveal A Big 'Avengers 4' Spoiler? Maybe!
Ol' "cat out of the bag" Gwyneth Paltrow has really gone and done it this time! In a new interview, Paltrow, who plays Pepper Potts in the MCU, may have just let slip a pretty big Avengers 4 spoiler. We try to get to the bottom of this below. Beware of spoilers!
Are you still here? Okay, if so, that means you're cool with some Infinity War and potential Avengers 4 spoilers. In an interview with the Official "Avengers: Infinity War" Magazine (via The Playlist), Gwyneth Paltrow offers up a surprising bit of information regarding her MCU character, Pepper Potts, and her relationship with Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man:
"Pepper and Tony have had a real long journey together. She obviously starts as his dutiful assistant, and then the relationship evolves, and now this decade later they're married, and they have a child. Their relationship has evolved in all of the ways that great romances evolve."
You read that right: Paltrow says that Pepper and Tony have a child together. In case you think this might have been some sort of typo, here's a screenshot of the actual quote.
So what the heck is going on here? Anyone who has seen Infinity War knows that Pepper and Tony definitely do not have a child together. Paltrow's quote here could mean one of several things. Let's break 'em down.
Gwyneth Paltrow Misspoke
This is the most boring option, so let's get it out of the way first. Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow just goofed? Maybe she didn't actually mean to say that Pepper and Tony have a child together. Maybe she meant to say they're thinking of having a child together – something we see them discussing in Infinity War. Mistakes happen. It's okay, Gwyneth. We all goof up sometimes.
A Deleted Scene From Avengers: Infinity War
It's very possible there's a deleted scene somewhere in Avengers: Infinity War where Pepper finds out she's pregnant. The movie is very over-stuffed as it is, so I could absolutely see the Russo Brothers deciding to leave a scene like this on the cutting room floor for now. As mentioned above, an early scene in Infinity War features Tony and Pepper talking about the prospect of having a child. In fact, Tony even says he had a very vivid dream that he and Pepper had a child together, and that they named the child Morgan.
Before they can finish talking, they're interrupted by Doctor Strange. Later in the movie, Pepper tries to call Tony as he's going into space aboard Ebony Maw's ship. Pepper's call drops out, and we don't see her again for the rest of the film. It's possible that there was a deleted moment, possibly right after that call, where the film reveals Pepper is pregnant. Perhaps the scene originally cut back to her after the call dropped out, and the camera pans over to reveal a positive pregnancy test sitting on a sink. Or maybe I'm just letting my imagination get the better of me, and this didn't happen at all.
Iron Baby in Avengers 4
So let's say Paltrow didn't misspeak, and there isn't a deleted scene from Infinity War. What then? Well, that means Pepper and Tony really do have a child, which means that child pops up somewhere in Avengers 4. How could that be possible? We have a few options here.
One is that Avengers 4 features a significant time jump, sometime a few years after Thanos has snapped his fingers and made half the universe disappear. This is kind of dark, but I could see it happening: the now-decimated world has picked up and moved on, still reeling from the shock of Infinity War. At some point, Pepper and Tony had a kid. Maybe this is even the kid Tony says he dreamed about – Morgan.
Of course, this doesn't quite add up. We know from interviews that the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel apparently picks up right after the end of Avengers 4. And we also know that Peter Parker will still be in high school in that film. That kind of kills the whole "time jump" theory. Unless, of course, someone makes use of a certain Time Stone to turn back time...
Another option: Avengers 4 picks up right after Infinity War, Tony gets back to earth somehow, and then he finds out Pepper is pregnant. This is much more cut and dry.
She's Talking About Spider-Man
This is the last, and least-likely option. When Gwyneth Paltrow says that Pepper and Tony have a child, she's talking about Spider-Man. At some point, Tony adopts Peter Parker and says, "He's our child now, Pepper. I hope you're okay with that."
Alright, that probably won't happen.
We'll know the answer to this question for sure when Avengers 4 hits theaters on May 3, 2019.