'Avengers: Infinity War': Here's Why The Battle Comes To Wakanda And Who Shows Up To Fight
When it comes to Avengers: Infinity War, there has been plenty of speculation about the final Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone, and the ties that it might have to Wakanda. Some fans believe the nation of Wakanda is in possession of it, but that we merely haven't been made aware of it yet. Others believe it might be buried in the ground and gives the heart-shaped herb its power to venture into the afterlife. Some of the more far out theories involve the Soul Stone and the comic book setting of the Soul World.
None of those theories have been completely debunked by the new Avengers: Infinity War information pouring onto the web today. However, a new detail does make one of them less likely by providing the reason why the African nation of Wakanda is at the center of this intergalactic war.
Get the new details on the Avengers Infinity War Wakanda battle below, but if you want to go into the movie blind, beware of spoilers.
What Brings the Avengers to Wakanda?
Many have speculated that the presence of an Infinity Stone in Wakanda is what brings this massive battle to the advanced African nation. They're not wrong, but it's not the Soul Stone as many have speculated. Instead, it's a stone that we've already seen several times before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The character Vision (Paul Bettany) was created by Ultron with the power of the Mind Stone. The robot had different plans for the perfect being, but after Thor brought him to life with a strike of lightning, he fought with the Avengers against Ultron and has been living a fairly human life at Avengers headquarters, even being part of the Civil War between them. The Mind Stone is attached to the front of his head, giving him his power, and presumably his life. That means his life is in danger as Thanos grows nearer and hunts down the stone he needs to complete the collection.
"Vision is a living MacGuffin," co-director Anthony Russo tells Entertainment Weekly. "Obviously that raises the stakes because Vision's life is in danger, and his life is in conflict with Thanos' goals, so something's got to give." We see Vision in danger in the trailer when the point of a staff is touched to the stone on his head and he screams in pain.
This is likely the first encounter that the Avengers have with Thanos' Black Order. The nighttime setting features a shot of Cap catching a weapon thrown at him by an off-camera enemy, presumably Proxima Midnight, one of the members of the Black Order who is in pursuit of the Stone for her adoptive father, Thanos. Captain America (Chris Evans), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are likely present during this attack as well, since there's a shot in the Super Bowl spot of them all walking through Avengers headquarters with Vision looking like he's seen better days.
That's why Captain America chooses to bring Vision to Wakanda. He knows that here they can make one hell of a stand against the army in pursuit of the Infinity Stone. So they'll have Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Okoye (Danai Gurira), Shuri (Letitia Wright) and M'Baku (Winston Duke) to help them out. But those aren't the only heroes who show up for the fight.
An Asgardian Returns to Earth
In addition to the presence of Captain America, Black Widow, Black Panther and other Wakandan warriors, we know other Avengers enter the fray. The final shot of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer shows War Machine (Don Cheadle), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), now with a new arm and the moniker of White Wolf, charging into battle. But they're not the only heroes getting in on the action.
In EW's behind the scenes report, they watched filming of a certain sequence during the battle of Wakanda and it included a moment with Captain America standing back-to-back with none other than a recently returned Thor (Chris Hemsworth).
Cap and Thor haven't seen each other since Avengers: Age of Ultron, so it's been a few years by the time this fight brings them back together. Clearly they've both gone through some changes. Thor has a new haircut and a new weapon, the mystical axe known as Stormbreaker, while Captain America has a beard and has traded in his red, white and blue shield for a pair of vibranium shield gauntlets designed by Wakanda's tech genius Shuri.
Apparently on set, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth were scheming to bring a jokey exchange to the scene, each commenting on each other's new hairstyles as friends who haven't seen each other in awhile. But before they were able to film it, a thunderstorm shut down production for the day. Hopefully, that exchange makes it into the movie.
But Thor isn't the only one coming from another world to fight for Earth.
Some Guardians of the Galaxy Make It to Earth Too
We know that Thor goes on a side quest with Rocket Raccoon and Groot to forge the new weapon we discussed above. So if Thor is on Earth for the battle of Wakanda, where are his new cosmic buddies? Well, at least one of them came with him.
EW's report discusses another scene during the battle in which Bucky Barnes is blasting away some of the Outrider aliens with none other than Rocket Raccoon fighting by his side. Since the character is created with visual effects, it's actually Guardians of the Galaxy franchise co-star Sean Gunn on set with a puppet in his hands.
Rocket sees how much ass Bucky is kicking and asks, "How much for the gun?" But Bucky quickly responds, "It's not for sale." Still looking to come out ahead in this conversation, Rocket than asks, "Okay, how much for the arm?" Rocket just loves trying to get body parts from people.
Learn more from the set of Avengers: Infinity War from Entertainment Weekly over here. The film opens on April 27, 2018.