The Jeremy Renner character has been absent from all marketing materials for the new film, which is released next month.
But now a new fan theory suggests a decent reason why he may be missing – and it’s all to do with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), who is expected to be introduced in the follow-up Avengers 4.
Writing on Reddit, KINGSLAYER_117 said: “Hawkeye isn’t in the film because he has gone with Nick Fury, Maria Hill & maybe Ant-Man to search for Captain Marvel, who Fury has known in the past and the whole time pretended she never existed due to something that happened in Captain Marvel (maybe the death of Mar-Vell).
“Captain Marvel will have the Soul Stone or know of its whereabouts and we will see the history of her and the soul stone in her prequel movie between both Avengers.
“Captain Marvel, Hill, Fury, Hawkeye and maybe Ant-Man will then return in the second film to defeat Thanos with the help of the Soul Stone (which according to the MCU, is the most powerful gem).”
Indeed, the Soul Stone has also been the subject of much speculation, given that it has yet to be seen in any movies – despite speculation that we would catch a glimpse of it in last month’s Black Panther.
Nick Fury is another Marvel favourite who is seemingly absent from Infinity War.
Played by Samuel L Jackson, his next expected MCU appearance – according to IMDb, at least – is in Captain Marvel.
Paul Rudd’s Ant Man is also missing from most Avengers publicity, although Rudd is credited as being in the movie on IMDb.
It is thought that the concurrent filming of Ant-Man And The Wasp, due this summer, could have hampered his involvement in Infinity War.
Avengers: Infinity War is out on April 26.