Entertainment

This Wild 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Fan Theory Could Explain Peter Parker's Fate

by Alani Vargas

With over 20 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all of which have superheroes with complex backstories that came together in Avengers: Infinity War, there's always going to be wild fan theories. Some are more plausible than others, but when dealing with a universe so full of possibilities, it's hard not to hope some of them are real. The newest trailer for Peter Parker's next film just dropped and it's already sparked a Spider-Man: Far From Home theory so mind-boggling, it could actually be true.

The trailer for Far From Home, the sequel to 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, debuted Jan. 15 after Tom Holland (aka Spider-Man) tried to release it during his Instagram Live stream that morning. The trailer shows Peter going on a school trip to Europe, flirting with MJ (Zendaya), and using his spidey powers to defeat a threat abroad. That all makes for a pretty awesome superhero movie. There's just one problem: Spider-Man died in Infinity War.

Fans have probably tried to suppress the memory of it — you know, the dust, the "I don't feel so good," and all that? — but it happened, so why is Peter unharmed and seemingly chillin' out across the pond?

Thanks to co-producer Amy Pascal's interview with Fandom, it was confirmed that Far From Home takes place just minutes after whatever conspires in Avengers: Endgame, which comes out Apr. 26. But the trailer doesn't even hint at the events of Infinity War. As Comicbook.com reported, an interesting fan theory has popped up on Reddit and it could explain why Spider-Man isn't dust anymore.

Reddit user ICCanada speculated that, since it's been confirmed that the movies are appearing in chronological order, an "unsnap" will occur in Endgame, undoing all the events that happened in the third Avengers movie including Thanos' snap that took out half of the planet's population. In fact, the "unsnap" goes all the way back before Thanos even had the chance to attack Earth. This means that the Q-Ship led by Ebony Maw never comes to Manhattan, Spider-Man never left his school bus coming back from the Museum of Modern Art, and he never ended up on Titan. Trippy, right?

The theory also points to the line Thanos said to Iron Man as they were fighting on Titan: "I hope they remember you." While it's more probable that he's just talking about the snap that's going to erase half the universe — with possibly Tony included — the theory suggests that the line might be foreshadowing Iron Man sacrificing himself. And that sacrifice could be what resets the timeline to a point before Infinity War.

The theory would also explain why the Spider-Man suit shown in the Far From Home trailer is the same one from Homecoming, and not the new one Tony gives Peter in Infinity War. Because it didn't happen. If Tony does sacrifice himself and die, as most fans guess will happen, it could explain why Peter is reluctant to take on Spider-Man duties across the globe. He just lost his mentor and role model. It's safe to say that tissues might be needed for the next few MCU movies.

To blow your mind a little bit more, there are also theories that point to the MCU timeline splitting in two. Via a handy diagram shared to Reddit by user ofersadan, the theory suggests that Thanos' snap didn't kill or turn half the universe to dust. Instead, it split the universe in two and left the original Avengers on Earth in the current MCU timeline. So Far From Home could take place in that universe. Or, if the two timelines are stitched back together, as the theory posits will happen, the movie could take place after the universe has been restored.

Combining the universe back together via Quantum Mechanics would likely result in all of the people lost in the snap coming back to the universe or timeline that they left. As Michael Douglas revealed in an October interview with On Air with Ryan Seacrest, the "key" for the next phase in the MCU is the Quantum Realm, so Ant-Man fusing the two timelines back together is a great possibility.

While that simmers in your brain for the next few months, just rejoice in the fact that Marvel fans are getting three films — Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Far From Home — literally months apart in 2019. And whatever happens in Endgame, Peter is back and slinging webs as good as new, so your mourning phase can come to an end — probably just in time to mourn Tony, but that's a future problem.