10 Bold Predictions About Every Upcoming MCU Movie

There's a good chance Iron Man, Cap and their allies will defeat Thanos and the Black Order by the end of Avengers 4, but probably not before the Mad Titan gets his mitts on all of the Infinity Stones and wreaks havok across the MCU.

Even if the Avengers-Guardians alliance does manage to thwart the villain's plan, there's a good chance this won't be through fatal force, because it's in Marvel's interest to keep him around.

Although Thanos is traditionally depicted as a villain, he's a complex character who's actually aided Marvel's heroes almost as many times as he's opposed them, warding off threats including Mephisto and Magus.

It would be a shame if the MCU killed Thanos off before he had the chance to show moviegoers that there is more than one side to him, and it would be an absolute travesty if he didn't get to cross paths with Adam Warlock on screen, who is set to make his cinematic debut in Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Warlock is a pivotal character in the Mad Titan's arc, at one point serving as his bitter enemy, only to later offer him a shot at redemption and cure him of his madness. The pair go on to team up as part of the Infinity Watch.

Although Thanos needs to be taken down at some point during the events of Infinity War and Avengers 4 to prevent him from breaking the universe, Marvel must keep him around long enough to explore his true potential and acquaint him with Warlock.