age of ultron
The connections between "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and the upcoming "Avengers: Infinity War" may be closer than anticipated. YouTube/Marvel Entertainment

Not a lot of details have been revealed regarding the upcoming “Avengers: Infinity War.” At most, some hints and sneak peeks of cast members being caught on set have surfaced, but as to what may transpire upon the film’s release is anyone’s guess at this point. Most recently, however, a new photo showing the film set has hinted at “Infinity War” sharing a link with 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The picture from the set of “Infinity War” (via MCU News & Tweets) shows a statue that was previously spotted in Thor’s dream sequence from “Age of Ultron.” As some fans may recall, the vision had Thor in Hel, with his Asgardian friends revealed to be deceased. Could the statue’s recent appearance on set be a foreshadowing of what is to come for Thor and the rest of the Avengers?

The possibility of Thor’s vision being realised in “Infinity War” may mean that he and his Asgardian comrades may have fallen at the hands of Hela (portrayed by Cate Blanchett in the upcoming “Thor: Ragnarok”). With this taken into consideration, the notion of “Ragnarok” concluding with Hela’s victory is one that may be considered as well, as the statue’s appearance on the “Infinity War” set could mean the death of some characters. Ultimately, however, this would subsequently affect the Avengers and the events that will take place in “Infinity War.” As ScreenRant points out, this is where the Guardians of the Galaxy will come into play. Should Thor and his companions be left at the hands of Hela, the Guardians may quite possibly arrive as assistance, especially since they are also included in the “Infinity War” cast.

Previously, it was reported that “Infinity War” would also be introducing a possible new generation of the Avengers. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” star Dave Bautista likened this to the approach utilised with introducing Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe through the character’s appearance in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.”

“Those are the prominent Avengers that have been in all the films, but they’re really just adding so many characters in this,” Bautista said on the “Talk is Jericho” podcast at Podcast One regarding new characters joining the likes of Captain America and Iron Man. “‘Cause they’re also starting to introduce other characters like they did in Captain America [Civil War]. They’ve brought in Spider-Man. But they’re going to start moving into different phases of Marvel. So they’re introducing other characters.”