Over the years, there have been many a ridiculous superhero theory, but perhaps the most insane one yet is the idea that Avengers: Endgame will see Ant-Man defeat Thanos by shrinking down, crawling into the butt of the supervillain, before expanding to regular size. In other words: The 'Thanus'.
While some brushed it off as a hilariously disgusting but ultimately unrealistic prediction, thousands of people on the internet ran with it, and soon enough meme after meme was popping up online of Ant-Man doing just that.
But, the real question here is: what did Paul Rudd think of the whole thing? After all, his character is the one who would actually have to go where no superhero has been before...
After weeks of memes, this question was finally answered on the Graham Norton Show this weekend - and needless to say, Paul isn't keen.
When Graham asked him about the hypothesis, the actor had not only heard of it, but he also had some pretty big complaints.
Here's Paul Rudd addressing the 'Thanus' theory on the Grahan Norton Show:"I think I know the theory you’re talking about," he said, laughing. "Yeah, a lot of people have asked me recently if I shrink down and go up, uh, the theory is called the ‘Thanus’. And go into Thanos in a certain orifice and then grow giant-sized."
He continued to point out the major flaw in the theory, asking: "But why not the ear or the nose? Why does it have to be [that]?"
It must be acknowledged that, while the 50-year-old star hasn't expressed interest in the storyline, he also didn't exactly deny it either. Is there hope for Thanus lovers? We shall see!
The Friends actor isn't the only Avengers cast member to comment on the bizarre speculation. In fact, Josh Brolin, who plays Thanos, seemed all up for it when he posted a video of himself on the toilet back in March, where he is ostensibly stopping Ant-Man from enacting his plan.
"The tension around what Endgame is going to bring. I can feel it, as you can see. Can you?" he wrote on Instagram, adding the hashtags #thanosmarketingpush, #flushanantman, and #50percenthernia.
In addition, Avengers: Endgame co-director Anthony Russo gave fans hope when he admitted in an interview that he wished he had ended the film with the Thanos butt theory.
"I wish we had [used the Thanus theory in Avengers: Endgame]," he said.
"Look, [brother/co-director Joe and I] were fans long before we were filmmakers in the MCU, so we understand that point of view of participating in the narrative as a viewer and loving these characters and thinking about all the possibilities about where these characters can go, and really understanding their experiences and their journey. So, the fact that the fans are enthusiastic about participating at that level is amazing. That’s the best place to be."
So, the Avengers team have pooh-poohed the Thanus theory. But could they be bluffing? Find out on April 26...
