There’s just over a week until the latest instalment of the Avengers franchise hits theatres, and following the release of yet another trailer overnight, there’s a whole bunch of speculation about what may or may not happen in Infinity War.

Here are some of the best fan theories doing the rounds at the moment.

1. Star-Lord And Iron Man Share Some Tech?

In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is shown to have a mask which protects him from the extremes of space and keeps him breathing in low-oxygen environments. This mask grows out of a little device behind his ears in a very similar way that Tony Stark’s repulser grows out of his watch in Captain America: Civil War, and the way that his armour grows around him in the first Infinity War trailer. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II, Peter Quill’s mask is broken by Ego, but he is shown wearing it in the second Infinity War trailer.

The theory stands that Tony and Peter join heads to not only fix or create a new mask for Star-Lord, but also to create the space-ready suit Stark is shown wearing in the trailer.

2. Hawkeye Is Actually Ronin In Infinity War

In all of the ridiculous amount of promotional material released for Infinity War, there were a couple of major players missing — the most significant being Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

Many fans have speculated online as to why this is, with one theory having solid ground. This is the theory that Hawkeye adopts his alternate personality, Ronin, in Infinity War. In the comics, Ronin is the persona Hawkeye adopts to become anonymous and incognito, generally working alone to complete missions.

Set photos have even been revealed from the untitled Avengers 4 showing Jeremy Renner in a costume surprisingly similar to the one Ronin wears in the comics. In an interview with JOE.ie, Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo explained “We cooked up a story for him that is a little bit of a long play.”

So who knows? Perhaps our favourite archer will go rogue in the near future.

3. Agent Coulson Rejoins The Avengers

After the team was emotionally scattered and broken by Loki in The Avengers, only one thing brought them together to fight the impending alien army — the apparent death of Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In the spinoff TV series Agents of Shield, however, Coulson is brought back to life by means of a Kree experiment conducted by Nick Fury. Ever since, he’s been going on wild adventures, with only minor connections to the silver screen movies (such as the helicarrier plot in Avengers: Age of Ultron). 

The theory stands that Agent Coulson and the other Agents of Shield will join the Avengers in the battle against Thanos, as many of them have serious superpowers. Bringing Coulson back would also help to reunite the Avengers after the devastating events of Captain America: Civil War.

4. Captain America Will Receive A Fancy New Weapon To Combat The Mad Titan

Following the loss of his iconic shield at the end of Captain America: Civil War, Steve Rogers is shown with new Wakandan shield gloves in the Infinity War trailer, but are those his only new toys?

Many people have speculated online that Cap will wield a mystery weapon in Infinity War. Possibly something that allows him to say, hold off Thanos with two stones in the gauntlet? Hot Toys have also hinted at a new weapon being released with their new Captain America action figure, the true identity of which is being kept under wraps.

So what could this weapon be? Some say it could even be the final Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone, rumoured to be a well-kept secret in Wakanda. This would certainly allow Rogers to hold off Thanos like he does in the trailer.

Another theory suggests that this mystery weapon could be “Captain America’s new shield”, as referenced by Happy Hogan in Spiderman: Homecoming whilst clearing out the old Avengers Tower.

Of course, it could also be something as simple as a Wakandan battle spear, we can only wait and see.

5. The Marvel Cinematic Universe As We Know It Will End

Due to the infinite power of the Infinity Stones, wild and hopefully untrue theories have sprung up everywhere online, outlining the future of the MCU.

We know that Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Panther and at least some of the Guardians of the Galaxy are signed on for more movies following Infinity War, so these characters will have to survive the events of Infinity War somehow, but the fates of major heroes such as Iron Man, Captain America and Thor remain uncertain.

Following Disney’s Fox deal, much-loved characters such as the X-Men or Fantastic Four could also be introduced for Avengers 4, the title of which is apparently a massive spoiler that may or may not be revealed at some point during Infinity War.

Watch the new Marvel Studios’ "Avengers: #InfinityWar" trailer. Get your tickets now: https://t.co/kctg8VkHan pic.twitter.com/bG7KIpQpnP

— The Avengers (@Avengers) March 16, 2018

Following an interview with the Russo brothers, in which the directors stated “I think [Phase 4 will be] massively different. I think that this is as if Marvel has been writing a book for ten years it’s the end of the book and someone is going to write a new book.”

Fans have been speculating that the Infinity Stones will be used to obliterate the entire Marvel universe, then build it back up again. This would then give the remaining heroes some serious shit to work through in the movies following Infinity War.

We’ll find out if any of this stuff is true when Avengers: Infinity War hits theatres next Wednesday on the 25th, and tickets can be booked now.