In the first official Avengers: Infinity War trailer, we see the villain Thanos collecting some of the coveted Infinity Stones. While the whereabouts of the Soul Stone remains unknown, the trailer hints that a popular theory might be true: The Orange Soul Stone has been in Wakanda this whole time.
Because it’s the only stone we haven’t seen yet, and because Black Panther is the only Marvel movie set to come out before Infinity War, this theory already made a lot of sense. Almost all of the MCU movies have featured at least one Infinity Stone in some fashion, with only a few notable exceptions. So it stands to reason that the only Stone we’ve never seen might be in a place we’ve never really gone: Wakanda. But the Infinity War trailer makes this seem more likely than ever.
Why would Thanos launch an assault on Wakanda if not to retrieve an Infinity Stone?
The Infinity War footage screened at D23 and San Diego Comic-Con over the summer featured Black Panther and the Winter Soldier uniting on the battlefield with an army to fight some invading alien force. We didn’t know for sure where it was back then, but now, it seems all but certain that the epic battle takes place just outside of what’s probably the capital city of Wakanda, Birnin Zana.
Evidence mounts when you look at how many Avengers show up for the fight. In perhaps the most epic moment of the trailer, we see the Winter Soldier, War Machine, Black Widow, Captain America, the Hulk, Okoye, and Black Panther. We even see the Hulkbuster Iron Man armor in action during one shot.
At the 1:18 mark, T’Challa says, “Evacuate the city, engage our defenses, and get this man a shield.” He’s no doubt referring to some impending assault on Birnin Zana, and the “man” is definitely Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, who commonly fights with a Vibranium shield but gave his up at the end of Captain America: Civil War.
Now all we have to do is wait for Black Panther.
Black Panther will be released February 16, 2018 with Avengers: Infinity War hitting theaters May 4, 2018.
