Antman's Role In Avengers 4

In the end credits scene to Antman and the Wasp, a secret device was being tested by Hank Pim and friends that could send people to the quantum realm. Then all of a sudden, Thanos snapped his fingers and all of Antman's colleagues faded to dust while he was still inside the QR. One of my first thoughts upon seeing that movie, was that the device would be used in Avengers 4 to rescue people from the soul stone. This assumes the people who died in the finger snap (or possibly just Gamora) are still alive on a quantum level inside the soul stone (which is a feature of the soul stone in the comics).

My theory for Avengers 4 is that they use the machine from the Antman end credits scene (which they now need Tony Stark to operate), and use it to enter the soul gem to retrieve Gamora. She uses guilt to defeat Thanos, aided by what Star Lord did on Titan. #InfinityWar #Avengers4

— Cinema Analytica (@CinemaAnalytica) July 10, 2018

Problem is, Paul Rudd's character is not a genius, and Hank Pim is no longer around to operate that high tech device. Enter Tony Stark, who survived the finger snap on Titan, presumably because Doctor Strange negotiated his survival when he surrendered the time stone (which he swore he'd never do). It's possible the reason that it was so important for Tony to survive is so that he can return to Earth to team up with Antman and operate the Quantum Teleporter. That would make some sense. We're not sure if Antman is currently stranded in the Quantum Realm, or if he needs to be rescued. If he does, Tony will be the one who does.

One of my own personal theories about the sequence of events that Doctor Strange foresaw leading to victory included Star Lord getting in Thanos's face about killing Gamora, that Strange may have gone so far as to instruct him to do that. It's possible that Thanos's guilt for killing the one soul he cared about will somehow play a role in his defeat. When he acquired the soul stone, he had to sacrifice Gamora to get it. If she's still alive inside the stone, it's unclear what will happen if Thanos's sacrifice is rescued. He could even get sucked into the stone himself as a penalty and lose the gauntlet.

Thanos does appear to be wounded at the end of Infinity War after he leaves Earth. Thor's axe may have left him with a permanent injury. It also appears that the glove holding the stones was damaged in the finger snap, probably from the incredible energy required to make half of life in the universe disappear. It's possible that his powers and the gauntlet have been significantly diminished. If our surviving heroes are able to find him, it may be possible to defeat him now in a fist fight. Maybe Thor finishes the job. Maybe Hulk gets revenge.

There is probably going to be an epic fight scene in Avengers 4 between a weakened Thanos and the remaining heroes. Whether or not this happens before or after an attempt to enter the soul stone using the Quantum Teleporter is a coin toss. I just have a strong feeling that Antman will be leading a quantum rescue mission into the soul stone, and that Gamora leaving the stone will ultimately lead to Thanos's defeat in some form. How that happens exactly is anyone's guess.