One of the things haunting the MCU’s incarnation of Tony Stark the most since its debut in 2008 has been his estranged relationship with his late father Howard. However, rumors have since arisen that the two men may come face-to-face in next year’s Avengers 4.
John Slattery, who appeared as the elder Stark in 2010’s Iron Man 2, 2015’s Ant-Man, and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, is rumored to have been spotted on the Atlanta set for the upcoming Avengers sequel filming scenes with Robert Downey, Jr.
RELATED: Clean-Shaven Chris Evans Reports for Avengers 4 Reshoots in New Set Pics
While the nature of the two Starks’ scene is still unknown, it does support the popular theory that the MCU film will prominently involve time travel as the superheroes visit previous points in the history of the MCU in their quest to stop Thanos from enacting his master plan at the climax of Avengers: Infinity War.
Another possibility is that Tony is using his Civil War invention the Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing (B.A.R.F.) device. Tony had unveiled the technology during a presentation at MIT early in the Captain America sequel to revisit his final conversation with his parents before their untimely deaths at the hands of a HYDRA-controlled Winter Soldier in 1991. Using the device once again, Tony could learn secrets from his father as part of the Avengers last-ditch effort to stop Thanos.
RELATED: Avengers 4: Does Gamora’s Costume Confirm Time-Travel Theory?
Whether or not the rumors of Howard Stark’s return in Avengers 4 are true, it does offer the tantalizing opportunity for Tony to finally reach a level of closure with his father that he eluded him for most of his life.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers 4 stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Brie Larson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Evangeline Lilly, and Josh Brolin. The film is set to hit theaters on May 3, 2019.
(via The Hashtag Show)