Christian Meakins

EXT. BARTON HOME - DAY

CLOSE ON: A HOUSE-ARREST ANKLE BRACELET.

CLINT BARTON (O.S.) Okay, you see where you’re going?

Let’s work on how to get there.

Pan up to find...CLINT BARTON, with his daughter, LILA, coaching her as she notches an arrow in her bow.

CLINT BARTON (CONT'D) Okay, good...tip down...bow arm

out...three fingers-

Why three?

LILA BARTON

CLINT BARTON
‘Cause two’s not enough and four’s

too much-

LAURA BARTON (O.S.)
You guys want mustard or mayo, or

both?
CLINT TURNS. IN THE FIELD BEHIND THEM, his wife, LAURA

BARTON sets up a picnic as COOPER and NATHANIEL play soccer. LILA BARTON

Who puts mayo on a hot dog?

CLINT BARTON
We’ll both have mustard, hon!

(to Lila)
Okay. Draw back, deep breath...

She lets loose. THUD! HER ARROW HITS NEAR THE BULLS-EYE.

CLINT BARTON (CONT'D) Good job, Hawkeye. Go get your

arrow.

LAURA BARTON (O.S.) Enough murder practice! Soup’s on!

CLINT BARTON
One sec, babe. Be right there!

We’re gonna kill some hot dogs. We’re hungry.

But when he turns back...LILA IS GONE. The bow and arrow lie at his feet. He stares.

CLINT BARTON (CONT'D) Lila? Babe, did you see Lila-

He turns to his wife, BUT SHE’S GONE. So are the boys. The soccer ball rolls to a stop near the picnic blanket.

NO ONE CAN BE SEEN FOR A HUNDRED YARDS IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

CLINT BARTON (CONT'D) Guys? Guys, come on...

Clint walks toward the field, dread growing.

CLINT BARTON (CONT'D) Clint breaks into a panicked run.

Laura?

CLINT BARTON (CONT'D) CLINT MELTS DOWN, SPINNING AROUND, FRANTIC...

MARVEL FLIP

EXT. SPACE - NIGHT

BLACKNESS.

TITLE: “TWENTY-TWO DAYS LATER.”

Soon, THE BENATAR tumbles past, adrift...

INT. BENATAR, GALLEY - NIGHT

TONY STARK and NEBULA play table-top football. She wins.

TONY (offering his hand)

Good sport. Have fun?
Nebula studies his hand, confused. Finally she shakes.

NEBULA It was fun.

INT. BENATAR, FLIGHT DECK - NIGHT

Tony, thin and haggard, kneels in front of HIS BROKEN IRON MAN HELMET. He hits a switch. A light blinks.

LAURA!

2

TONY’S RECORDING: he stares directly into the “camera.”

TONY
This thing on? Hey, Ms. Potts.

Pep. If you find this recording, don’t post it on social media.
It’s going to be a real tearjerker.

EXT. SPACE - NIGHT

THE BENATAR sparks, adrift.

TONY (O.S.)
I don’t know if you’re ever going

to see these. I don’t even know if you’re still...God, I hope so. Today’s day twenty-one, no...twenty- two.

INT. BENATAR, GALLEY - FLASHBACK

NEBULA lasers shut Tony’s infected wound.

TONY (O.S.)
You know, if it wasn’t for the

existential terror of staring into the literal void of space, I’d say I’m feeling a little better today. Infection’s run its course, thanks to the Blue Meanie back there. You’d like her. She’s very practical. And only a tiny bit sadistic.

INT. BENATAR, GALLEY - FLASHBACK

TONY AND NEBULA MEND THE EMPTY FUEL CELLS UNDER THE FLOOR.

TONY (O.S.)
The fuel cells were cracked during

battle, but we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge. Bought ourselves about 48 hours of flight time. Problem is that was about...49 hours ago.

EXT. SPACE - NIGHT

FROM HIGH OVERHEAD, WE WATCH THE BENATAR DRIFT IN SPACE.

3

TONY (O.S.)
Which means, we’re dead in the

water. A thousand light years from the nearest 7-11.

INT. BENATAR, GALLEY - FLASHBACK

Tony hands Nebula the last of A PURPLE POWDER. She pushes it back to him.

TONY (O.S.)
Most of the quote-unquote ‘food’

and potable water ran out two weeks ago.

INT. BENATAR, FLIGHT DECK - NIGHT

Tony stands on the flight deck, one hand resting on the glass, staring into the unknown.

TONY
Pep, I know I said no more

surprises. But, I gotta say, I was really hoping to pull off one last one. But it looks like...well, you know what it looks like.

INT. BENATAR, FLIGHT DECK - NIGHT

Back to now. Tony records his thoughts into his helmet.

TONY
Don’t feel bad about this. I mean,

actually, if you grovel for a couple weeks, and then move on with enormous guilt...I should probably lie down for a minute, rest my eyes. Please know, when I drift off, it will be like every day lately. I’m fine, totally fine. I’m going to dream about you. It’s always you.

Tony switches the helmet off.
NEBULA finds TONY SPRAWLED ON THE FLOOR.

TIME CUT: TIME CUT:

4

Nebula helps Tony into Quill’s chair. Tony slumps, completely still. Nebula gives him his privacy.

Move in on Tony’s face as...A LIGHT SLOWLY GROWS BRIGHTER. Soon, the entire flight deck glows as bright as a sun.

Nebula appears from the galley, shading her eyes. Tony’s eyelids flutter. Finally, he opens them to see...

CAPTAIN MARVEL (CAROL DANVERS) hovering in space.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, BATHROOM - NIGHT STEVE ROGERS shaves.

He studies himself in the mirror, exhausted. He’s about to tap his razor in the sink’s standing water, when...

THE WATER RIPPLES. Steve stares a beat, puzzled. Then the lamp catches his eye...SWAYING GENTLY.

Just then, a sound roars overhead. Steve turns...

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - NIGHT

THE MOON HANGS HUGE OVER THE EARTH. Then the silhouette of THE BENATAR races past, propelled by CAROL DANVERS.

Below...STEVE ROGERS, BRUCE BANNER, AND NATASHA ROMANOV watch a flying woman guide the ship to the ground.

Behind them, PEPPER POTTS walks up to the group.
TIME CUT:

Steve races up as NEBULA helps Tony down the ramp.

TONY
I couldn’t stop him.

STEVE Neither could we.

TONY I lost the kid.

STEVE
(unable to say it all)

We...lost...

TONY Is Pepper...?

5

JUST THEN, PEPPER POTTS THROWS HERSELF INTO TONY’S ARMS.

PEPPER POTTS
Stay here, you stay right here-

TONY
I’m not going anywhere.

NEARBY, NEBULA watches the sad humans. ROCKET SITS BESIDE HER, GRATEFUL. She rests a hand on his furry head.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, WORKSHOP - DAY
RHODEY, TONY, STEVE, NATASHA, AND CAROL watch...

A HOLO-DISPLAY ROTATING THROUGH FACES OF PEOPLE WE’VE LOST:

WANDA. VISION. BUCKY. T’CHALLA. MARIA HILL.

RHODEY
It’s been twenty-three days since

Thanos came to Earth.

TONY, weak, sits in a hi-tech wheelchair, IV dripping into his arm. He stares, taking in the loss:

SAM WILSON. SECRETARY ROSS. SHARON CARTER. SCOTT LANG. HOPE VAN DYNE. HANK PYM. NICK FURY.

At Fury, Carol bites back emotion.

NATASHA
World governments are in pieces, as

you can imagine. But the parts that still work are trying to take a census. It looks like he did what he said he was going to do.

JANE FOSTER. ERIK SELVIG. WONG. DR. STRANGE. THE BARTON FAMILY. QUILL. DRAX. MANTIS. GROOT. PETER PARKER.

Finally, Tony looks away. RHODEY turns it off.

NATASHA (CONT'D)
Thanos wiped out fifty percent of

all the living creatures on Earth.

CAROL DANVERS Not just Earth.

RHODEY
You sure about that?

6

CAROL DANVERS
You never have to ask me that.

TONY Where is he now?

STEVE
We don’t know. He just opened a

portal and walked through.
Tony looks out to see...THOR on the patio.

TONY What’s his deal?

ROCKET (O.S.) He’s pissed.

Tony turns to see Rocket for the first time.

ROCKET (CONT'D)
He thinks he failed. Which, of

course, he did. But there’s a lot of that going around, ain’t there?

TONY
Until this second, I literally

thought you were a Build-a-Bear.

STEVE
We’ve been hunting Thanos for three

weeks - deep space scans, satellites - we got nothing. Tony, you fought him-

TONY
Who told you that? I didn’t fight

him, he wiped my face with a planet while a Bleecker Street magician gave away the store. There was no fight because he’s not beatable.

STEVE
Did he give you anything to go on?

Clues, coordinates-
Tony stares, lost, barely acknowledging Steve.

TONY
I saw this coming, few years back.

Didn’t wanna believe. I thought I was dreaming...

7

STEVE
Tony, I need you to focus-

TONY
And I needed you, as in past tense.

That trumps what you need. It’s too late, buddy. You know what I need?

Tony turns to everyone, slightly unstable.

TONY (CONT'D)
I need a shave and a burger, not a

bowl of soup. (stands)

And I believe I remember telling all of you, alive and otherwise, that we needed a suit of armor around the world, whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not-

STEVE
But that didn’t work out, did it?

TONY
I said we’d lose, you said we’d “do

that together, too.” Guess what, Cap, we lost, and you weren’t there. But that’s what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We’re the “Avengers”, not the “Pre-vengers-”

RHODEY Tony, take it easy...

TONY
I’ve got nothing for ya, Cap. No

coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero, zip, nada. No trust.

(rips out RT)
Here. You take this. You find him, you put this on, and hide.

(drops to his knees) I’m fine!

Tony COLLAPSES. Rhodey catches him.

8

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, CORRIDOR - DAY

CAROL, STEVE, AND NATASHA stare through GLASS DOORS at TONY IN A HOSPITAL BED, PEPPER AND BANNER AT HIS SIDE.

RHODEY STEPS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL ROOM.

RHODEY
Bruce gave him a sedative. Should

be out the rest of the day.

CAROL DANVERS (heading for the lab)

Take care of him. When I come back, I’ll bring a bottle of Xorrian elixir.

STEVE Where are you going?

CAROL DANVERS To kill Thanos.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, WORKSHOP - DAY

NATASHA catches up to CAROL IN THE WORKSHOP.

NATASHA
Hey, hey, hang on. We’re sort of a

team here. Between you and me, morale’s a little fragile.

CAROL DANVERS Oh, I’m sorry. My fault.

Carol sees Steve and Rhodey catch up. She claps her hands.

CAROL DANVERS (CONT'D) All right, team! I’m going to go

kill Thanos. Message me if you get any intel that can help.
Otherwise, I’ll report back when he’s dead. Great work, everybody.

STEVE
Look, we realize “up there’s” more

your territory, but this is our fight, too.

RHODEY
Do you even know where he is?

9

CAROL DANVERS I know people who might-

NEBULA (O.S.) Don’t bother.

They all turn to see NEBULA in THE LIVING AREA DOORWAY.

NEBULA (CONT'D)
I can tell you where Thanos is.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, LIVING AREA - DAY

STEVE, NATASHA, RHODEY, BANNER, ROCKET, THOR, and CAROL gather. NEBULA studies her robotic hand.

NEBULA
Thanos spent a long time trying

to...perfect me. When he worked, he talked. About his Great Plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I’d ask, where would we go once his plan was complete? His answer was always the same: “To the Garden.”

RHODEY
You’re saying Thanos had a

retirement plan.

STEVE Where’s this garden?

ROCKET brings up EARTH on A HOLO-MAP. A BRIGHT SURGE OF ENERGY ENVELOPS THE PLANET (EMANATING FROM WAKANDA).

ROCKET
When Thanos snapped his fingers,

Earth become ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one’s seen anything like it.

He shifts the map, crossing billions of light years, to...AN IDENTICAL SURGE ENVELOPING A MYSTERIOUS, ORANGE PLANET.

ROCKET (CONT'D) Until two days ago.

NATASHA
You’re saying he snapped his

fingers again. Where?

10

Rocket zooms the holo-image toward a cluster of stars...

NEBULA
Planet is unnamed, but inhabitable.

Rich atmosphere, good soil-

STEVE A garden.

BRUCE BANNER
Thanos is there. And he just used

the stones.

Steve eyes everyone. THOR FINALLY LOOKS UP.

BRUCE BANNER (CONT'D) (thinking of himself)

You know, we’d be going short- handed.

RHODEY
Because he killed all our friends.

ROCKET
Are we saying they’re dead? We’re

using that word now?

RHODEY
He’s still got the stones.

CAROL DANVERS
So, we take them. And we use them

to bring everybody back.

BRUCE BANNER Just like that?

STEVE
Yeah. Just like that.

No one speaks. Finally...

NATASHA
If there’s even the smallest chance

we can undo this, then we owe it to everyone who’s not sitting here to try.

Everyone looks around the room...AGREED.

BRUCE BANNER
If we do this...why would it end

any differently than it did before?

11

CAROL DANVERS
Because before you didn’t have me.

RHODEY
Hey, new girl. All of us in here

are about that superhero life. Where’ve you been all this time?

CAROL DANVERS There’s a lot of people in the

universe. And they didn’t all have you.

THOR STANDS. He crosses to Carol and holds out his hand. STORMBREAKER WHIPS PAST HER HEAD, RUFFLING HER HAIR.

Carol doesn’t flinch. Thor smiles.

THOR
I like this one.

Steve stares at the planet a long, deciding moment. Then...

STEVE
Let’s go get that son of a bitch.

TITLE: “AVENGERS: ENDGAME”

INT. BENATAR, FLIGHT DECK - DAWN

SLAM TO:

EVERYONE settles into their seats on the Benatar’s flight deck. STEVE WATCHES EARTH GROW SMALLER THROUGH THE WINDOW.

CAROL DANVERS
Trust me. You get used to it.

ROCKET looks around from the pilot’s chair.

ROCKET
Okay, who here hasn’t been to

space?
STEVE, NATASHA, and RHODEY half-raise their hands.

ROCKET (CONT'D) Oh, you’re gonna hate this.

NEBULA
Approaching jump in three, two...

STEVE’S FINGERS TIGHTEN on the arm rest as...

12

EXT. BENATAR - DAWN

WHOOSH! THE BENATAR WARPS, LEAPING INTO JUMP SPACE.

EXT. SPACE - DAY

WHOOSH! THE BENATAR ARRIVES ABOVE AN OMINOUS, ORANGE PLANET. As the ship maintains orbit, CAROL flies toward the planet.

CAROL DANVERS
I’ll head down for recon. If I’m

not back in fifteen, you’ll know I found him.

INT. BENATAR, FLIGHT DECK - SPACE

OUR HEROES wait on the flight deck, tense.

NATASHA looks at STEVE, who’s staring at...A COMPASS: PEGGY CARTER’S YELLOWED PHOTO STILL RESTS INSIDE.

NATASHA
This is going to work, Steve.

STEVE I know it will.

(beat)
Because I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t.

JUST THEN, CAROL FLIES UP TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS.

CAROL DANVERS (OVER COM) No satellites, no ships, no armies.

No ground defenses of any kind. It’s just him.

NEBULA That’s enough.

The Avengers exchange a look.

EXT. TITAN-2 - DAY

SMOKE CURLS FROM THE CHIMNEY OF A SOLITARY LODGE.

INT. THANOS’ LODGE - DAY

A POT BOILS OVER A FIRE. Then...THANOS LIMPS TOWARD IT, LEFT SIDE PARALYZED, arm blackened. A shell of his former self.

13

He stirs the pot. Suddenly, AN ARMORED HAND BURSTS FROM THE FIRE, GRABBING THANOS’ GAUNTLET...

PREVENTING THANOS FROM CLOSING HIS FIST.

Thanos jerks back as HULKBUSTER SPRINGS INSIDE. CAROL AND RHODEY BASH THROUGH THE ROOF, PINNING THANOS’ ARMS.

THOR crashes through the door, followed by the others. HE SWINGS STORMBREAKER...CUTTING OFF THANOS’ HAND.

The Gauntlet lands at Rocket’s feet. He picks it up...and his face goes slack. He turns the glove toward the others.

And we now realize...THE INFINITY STONES ARE GONE. STEVE

Where are they?
Thanos doesn’t answer. CAROL PRESSES HIM TO HIS KNEES.

CAROL DANVERS Answer the question!

THANOS
The universe required correction.

After that, the stones served no purpose beyond temptation.

BRUCE BANNER You murdered trillions.

THANOS
You should be grateful.

NATASHA Where are the stones?

THANOS
Gone. Reduced to atoms.

BRUCE BANNER
You used them two days ago!

THANOS
I used the stones to destroy the

stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be.

That lands, sickening. ROCKET SEARCHES, FRANTIC, NEAR TEARS.

ROCKET
No...they can’t be gone...

14

RHODEY He’s lying.

NEBULA
My father is many things. A liar

is not one of them.

THANOS
Thank you, daughter. Perhaps I’ve

treated you-

SWOOSH. THOR’S AXE SEVERS THANOS’ HEAD FROM HIS BODY. IT HITS THE FLOOR, FOLLOWED BY THE THUD OF HIS HUGE FRAME.

ROCKET What did you do?

Thor just stares, his long journey a failure.

THOR
I went for the head.

As Thor walks away, Steve looks at Thanos’ head on the ground. IT’S OVER. THEY LOST.

FADE TO BLACK.

OVER BLACK: “FIVE YEARS LATER.” EXT. PORT OF NEW YORK - DAY

A CAR CRUSHER flattens an Audi. THOUSANDS MORE NEVER-DRIVEN CARS LIE STACKED ON THE DOCKS, WAITING THEIR TURN.

EXT. NEW YORK - DAY

A HUGE TARP flaps over the shuttered LINCOLN CENTER.

EXT. SHEA STADIUM - DAY

A TEENAGE GIRL rides her skateboard, alone in a weed-filled parking lot. Pull back to see THE EMPTY STADIUM BEHIND HER.

INT. BROOKLYN COMMUNITY CENTER - NIGHT

A POSTER SHOWS A SINGLE FIGURE STARING AT A GROUP OF SHADOWS. IT READS, “WHERE DO WE GO, NOW THAT THEY’RE GONE?”

The bottom reads, “BROOKLYN SUPPORT GROUP, TUESDAYS 8PM.”

15

A GRIEVING MAN speaks in A RECOVERY GROUP.

GRIEVING MAN
So, I went on a date the other day.

JIMMY
Good job, Bobby. Back in the game.

GRIEVING MAN Thank you, Jimmy.

(to the group)
First in five years. I sat there at dinner thinking, what are we even supposed to talk about?

STEVE ROGERS, thinner, older, LISTENS INTENTLY. STEVE

What did you talk about?

GRIEVING MAN
Same old crap. How much things

have changed. How much we miss the Mets. My job, his job. Then it got kind of quiet. He cried during the salads.

OLDER MAN What about you?

GRIEVING MAN
I cried just before dessert. But

I’m seeing him again tomorrow. So...

STEVE
That’s great. You’ve already done

the hardest part. You took a jump, didn’t know where you’d come down. And that’s it, those little brave baby steps we’ve gotta take. To try to make us feel whole again, to find a purpose...

(to everyone)
I went into the ice right after I met the love of my life. Woke up seventy years later and...had to keep going.

The group takes this in.

16

STEVE (CONT'D)
The world’s been left in our hands.

If we don’t do something with it...then Thanos might as well have killed all of us.

People nod, but Steve seems unconvinced by his own words.

EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - DAY

THE CAMERA ROTATES down from the sky onto a strangely quiet San Francisco, until it finds...A STORAGE WAREHOUSE.

INT. STORAGE WAREHOUSE, UNIT 277 - DAY

LUIS’ VAN sits in a storage unit, surrounded by boxes: “S. LANG, KITCHEN, S. LANG, CLOTHES.”

THROUGH THE VAN WINDOWS, we see...HANK PYM’S QUANTUM TUNNEL.

A MEANDERING RAT CRAWLS ONTO THE CONTROLS. IT ACCIDENTALLY STEPS ON A TOGGLE SWITCH and...A LIGHT GOES GREEN. FLASH.

THE BACK DOORS OF THE VAN BLOW OPEN, revealing...SCOTT LANG, ANT-MAN suit shorting. He retracts his helmet, gasping.

INT. STORAGE WAREHOUSE, SECURITY OFFICE - DAY
A GUARD reads THE TERMINAL BEACH, by J.G. Ballard. He looks

up at a monitor: SCOTT LANG holds up a sign, “HELP.” EXT. STORAGE WAREHOUSE - DAY

A dented WAGON rolls over a speed-bump. Scott, in his old clothes, slowly wheels his belongings away.

The Guard watches him go, puzzled.

EXT. SAN FRANCISCO, STREET - DAY

Scott walks A STREET OF ABANDONED HOMES.

17

Hello?

SCOTT LANG

He hears A CLACKING. A KID on a bicycle rides by, playing card wedged between his spokes.

Scott waves him down. The kid stops.

SCOTT LANG (CONT'D) Hey. Kid. What happened here?

The kid says nothing. He just stares at Scott with a haunted look. Then he stands on his pedal and keeps riding.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK...

EXT. SAN FRANCISCO, GOLDEN GATE PARK - DAY

STONE MONUMENTS loom in a park. A small crowd mills. Reveal Scott looking over the monuments, lost.

TIME CUT: Scott walks up to the obelisks. At the top, they read: “THE

VANISHED.” Hundreds of names line the stones.
He scans the “L’s,” finally finding, “SCOTT LANG.”

SCOTT LANG

What? (realizing)

Cassie...

EXT. MAGGIE LANG’S HOUSE - DAY

A winded Scott races up the sidewalk toward his old house. He leaps a bush, banging on the front door.

SCOTT LANG Cassie! Cassie!

SOON, A TEEN GIRL opens the door, shocked. A very long beat.

Dad? Peanut?

CASSIE LANG

SCOTT LANG

Scott wraps his arms around CASSIE LANG (14), now five years older than when he last saw her. She hugs him, CRYING.

CASSIE LANG
I thought you were gone.

SCOTT LANG
I’m sorry. I’m back...I’m

back...I’m back...

18

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, FRONT GATE - DAWN

Avengers Compound stands amidst overgrown grass. Rusty chains lock the gate.

Faded signs warn: “RESTRICTED AREA. KEEP OUT.”

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, LIVING AREA - NIGHT

NATASHA SITS SURROUNDED BY HOLO-SCREENS FEATURING CAROL DANVERS, RHODEY, ROCKET AND NEBULA, AND OKOYE.

ROCKET (HOLO)

We boarded that “highly suspect warship” Danvers pinged.

And?

NATASHA NEBULA (HOLO)

It was an infectious garbage scow.

ROCKET (HOLO)

So thanks for the hot tip-

CAROL DANVERS (HOLO)

You were closer.

ROCKET (HOLO)

And now we smell like garbage-

NATASHA (to Okoye)

You get a reading on those tremors?

OKOYE (HOLO)

Minor subduction in the African plate.

NATASHA
Do we have a visual? How are you

handling it?

OKOYE (HOLO)

Nat. It was a mild earthquake. In the ocean. We handle it by not handling it.

Natasha looks burdened. Rhodey steps in.

19

RHODEY (HOLO)

I can have NASA redirect a satellite, do a sweep just to make sure.

NATASHA
Thanks. Carol, you’re still coming

our way next month?

CAROL DANVERS (HOLO) Not likely.

ROCKET (HOLO) Getting another haircut?

CAROL DANVERS (HOLO) Listen, fur-face, I’m covering a

lot of territory out here. The things that have been happening on Earth have been happening everywhere else. On thousands of planets. You might not see me for a long time.

NATASHA
All right. Everybody keep keeping

their eyes open. This channel’s always active. Anything goes sideways, anyone makes trouble where they shouldn’t, it comes through me.

They ad lib their goodbyes as they sign off, except Rhodey. NATASHA (CONT'D)

What’s up? Where are you?

RHODEY (HOLO) Mexico. Got some news.

NATASHA Okay...

RHODEY
Federalés found a room full of

bodies outside Juarez. Cartel guys. Guns still in their pants.

NATASHA Could be a rival hit-

RHODEY
But it wasn’t. Same MO as

Marseille. And Kiev. (MORE)

20

RHODEY (CONT'D) (beat)

It’s definitely Barton.
She nods, grim, reluctantly accepting.

RHODEY (CONT'D)
What he’s done here...what he’s been doing...I got to tell you, part of me doesn’t want to find

him.
Natasha just stares a long beat.

NATASHA
Find out where’s he going next.

Rhodey nods, signing off. Natasha sits there, THEN CRUMPLES. After a long beat...

STEVE (O.S.)
I’d offer to cook you dinner but

you seem sad enough already. Natasha turns to see STEVE in the doorway.

NATASHA
Come by to do your laundry?

STEVE And see a friend.

NATASHA Your friend’s fine.

STEVE
She leave the house today?

NATASHA
Nothing out there I particularly

want to see.

STEVE
I spotted a pod of whales coming

over the bridge.

NATASHA (dubious)

In the Hudson.

STEVE
Fewer ships, cleaner water. Just

saying, there’s still a world out there.

21

NATASHA
If you’re about to tell me to look

on the bright side, I’m about to hit you with a peanut butter sandwich.

Steve relents, LETTING DOWN HIS FACADE.

STEVE
Sorry. Force of habit.

NATASHA
I don’t know how you do it.

Steve bites into the uneaten half of her sandwich.

STEVE
I guess I don’t know how not to.

NATASHA Me, neither.

After a long moment, Steve looks up at her, honest.

STEVE
I keep telling them, move on. Grow

past it. And some of them actually do. But not us.

NATASHA
If I move on, who does this?

STEVE
Maybe it doesn’t need to be done.

Natasha takes that in. Steve is thinking of giving up. She looks around at Avengers Compound.

NATASHA
I used to have nothing. Then I got

this. This job, this family. And I was better because of it.

She chokes slightly, collecting herself.

NATASHA (CONT'D)
And even though they’re gone, I’m

still trying to be...better.

STEVE
I think we both need to get a life.

NATASHA You first.

22

They stare at each other a long, melancholy moment.

THEN, WE HEAR A PING. NATASHA SWIPES TO A CCTV DISPLAY: SCOTT LANG’S FACE FILLS A SCREEN, LUIS’ VAN BEHIND HIM.

SCOTT LANG (ON SCREEN) Hello? Is anyone home? This is,

uh, Scott Lang? We met a few years ago. At the airport?

STEVE
This an old message?

NATASHA (stunned)

It’s the front gate.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, WORKSHOP - NIGHT

SCOTT paces, mumbling to himself.

STEVE (O.S.) Scott, are you okay?

SCOTT LANG What? Yes.

He turns to STEVE and NATASHA.

SCOTT LANG (CONT'D) Have either of you guys ever

studied quantum physics?

NATASHA
Only to make conversation.

Steve glances at her. She shrugs.

SCOTT LANG
Well, five years ago, just before

this Thanos guy...I went into a place called the Quantum Realm. It’s like its own microscopic universe. You can only get there if you’re incredibly small. Hope, she’s my...she was supposed to pull me out. But then Thanos happened. And I was stuck in there.

NATASHA
I’m sorry. It must’ve been a long

five years.

23

SCOTT LANG (getting excited)

Okay, but that’s the thing. It wasn’t. For me, it was only five hours. The rules in the Quantum Realm aren’t like out here.
They’re completely unpredictable. Is anybody gonna eat that sandwich?

STEVE
Scott, what are you talking about?

SCOTT LANG

Time works differently in the Quantum Realm.

Steve and Natasha share a look.

SCOTT LANG (CONT'D) Problem is, right now, it’s chaos,

there’s no way to navigate it. But what if we could figure out a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time...and come out in another. Like, before Thanos-

STEVE
Wait...wait. Scott. Are you

talking about a time machine?

SCOTT LANG
No, not a machine. More like a...

(searches, then gives up) Yeah, like a time machine. I know it sounds crazy...

NATASHA
Scott, I get emails from a raccoon.

Nothing’s crazy anymore.

SCOTT LANG
So, who do we talk to about this?

EXT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND, UPSTATE NEW YORK - DAY

LLAMAS and FARM ANIMALS GRAZE A RUSTIC-TECH ECO-COMPOUND.

EXT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND, WOODS - DAY

TONY approaches A WOODED GLADE near the house.

24

TONY
Morgan H. Stark. Chow time. Want

some lunch?

Silence. Then MORGAN STARK (4) steps out of her play tent, wearing A PURPLE-BLUE IRON MAN HELMET (RESCUE).

MORGAN STARK
Define lunch or be disintegrated.

TONY
You should not be wearing that.

It’s part of a special anniversary gift I made for Mom. You thinking about lunch?

Tony gently takes the helmet off, revealing A YOUNG GIRL.

TONY (CONT'D) Where’d you find this?

MORGAN STARK

Garage.
Tony picks her up, walking toward the house.

TONY
You like going in the garage? So

does Daddy. It’s all right. Mommy never wears what I buy her.

TIME CUT: Tony and Morgan exit the woods. Suddenly, Tony stops.

In the driveway, STEVE ROGERS stares at him. NATASHA AND SCOTT GET OUT OF THE CAR BEHIND HIM.

EXT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND, PORCH - DAY

STEVE, SCOTT, and NATASHA sit with TONY.

TONY
I just want to thank you folks for

dropping by. It’s not every day one gets to contemplate biting it on an inter-dimensional timescape.

NATASHA
You’ve got some objections to the

plan.

25

TONY
So you’re calling it a plan. To

me, it sounds like an exotic suicide method. Not to mention, it’s impossible.

SCOTT LANG
We know what it sounds like.

STEVE
Tony, after what you’ve seen, is

anything really impossible?

TONY
Quantum fluctuation kinda messes

with the Planck Scale, which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition, can we agree on that?

(offering more tea) Chai?

(back on message)
In layman’s terms, it means you can cancel your Netflix subscription because you’re not coming home.

I did.

SCOTT LANG

TONY
Which was a billion-to-one cosmic

fluke. Now you want to pull a- What are you calling it?

SCOTT LANG A time heist.

TONY
Oh, of course, a time heist, why

didn’t we think of this before? Right, because it’s a pipe dream. Who are you again?

SCOTT LANG Still Scott...

STEVE
Tony, the Stones exist in the past.

We could get them and bring them here.

NATASHA

We can snap our own fingers. We

can bring everybody back.

26

TONY

Or screw it up worse than he already has.

STEVE
I don’t believe we would.

Tony stares at Steve, a lot of water under the bridge.

TONY
Gotta say it. Sometimes I’ve

missed that giddy optimism. Sadly, all your high hopes won’t help me if there’s no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said “time heist.” I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise.

SCOTT LANG
Not if we strictly follow the rules

of time travel. No talking to our past selves. No betting on sporting events-

TONY
Stop, Scott. Stop. Are you

telling me that your plan to save the universe is more than loosely based on Back to the Future?

SCOTT LANG (meaning “yes”)

No...

TONY
Good. Because that would be

horseshit. Scientifically speaking, your brother’s picture doesn’t disappear just ‘cause you went to the dance with your mom. That’s not how quantum physics works.

NATASHA
We have to take a stand.

TONY
We did stand. And yet here we are.

SCOTT LANG
Look, Stark- Can I call you Tony?

27

He exits.

TONY Please don’t-

Tony-

SCOTT LANG

TONY Fine.

SCOTT LANG
I get that you’ve got a lot on the

line, here. You’ve got a wife. A daughter. But I lost someone very important - a lot of us did - and now we have a chance to save her, and everyone else, and you won’t even-

TONY
No, Scott. I won’t. Even.

Suddenly, MORGAN walks onto the porch.

MORGAN STARK
Mommy told me to come save you.

Tony takes Morgan into his arms and heads inside.

TONY
Good job. I’m saved.

(to Steve)
I wish you were coming here to ask me something else. I’m honestly happy to see you. If you want to stay-

Steve tries one last time.

STEVE
Tony, I get it. And I’m happy for

you. I am. But this is a second chance.

TONY
Yeah, well, I got my second chance

right here. I can’t roll the dice on it. The table is set for six. If you don’t talk shop, you’re welcome to stay for lunch.

28

EXT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND - DAY

Steve, Natasha, and Scott walk toward the car.

NATASHA He’s scared.

STEVE He’s not wrong.

SCOTT LANG
What are we gonna do? We need him.

You want to stop?

STEVE
No. I want to do it right.

(beat)
We’re going to need a really big brain.

SCOTT LANG Bigger than his?

EXT. DINER - NIGHT

ONLOOKERS crowd a diner window, trying to peek inside.

SCOTT LANG (O.S.) I’m confused.

INT. DINER - NIGHT
SMART HULK ROLLS UP A PIZZA AND EATS IT LIKE A BURRITO.

SCOTT, STEVE, AND NATASHA SIT ACROSS FROM HIM.

SMART HULK
These are confusing times.

SCOTT LANG
No, that’s not what I’m-

SMART HULK
I’m kidding, I get it. It’s crazy.

I wear shirts now!

But why?

SCOTT LANG

29

SMART HULK
Five years ago, we got our asses

kicked, right?

Smart Hulk eats a stack of pancakes in two bites.

STEVE He’s heard.

SMART HULK
It was worse for me. Because I

lost twice. First Hulk lost. Then Banner lost. Then we all lost.

NATASHA
No one blamed you, Bruce.

SMART HULK
I did- I feel like I’m the only

one eating. Here, try some.
He holds out a pizza. They decline. He shrugs.

SMART HULK (CONT'D) Thing is, I kept thinking, it

didn’t have to be that way. That the best of Banner and best of Hulk, if they’d worked together, maybe they could’ve stopped Thanos.

SCOTT LANG
Okay. But how did...this happen?

SMART HULK
For years I treated the Hulk like a

disease, something to get rid of. But when I started treating him like the cure...

Smart Hulk MESHES HIS FINGERS together.

SMART HULK (CONT'D) Eighteen months in the Gamma Lab.

I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds.

TWO KIDS amble up to the booth.

KID
Mr. Hulk? Can we get a picture?

SMART HULK 100%, little lady.

The kid hands a phone to Steve. SMART HULK makes a duck face as Steve sheepishly snaps the pic, handing the phone back.

30

SMART HULK (CONT'D) (to the fan)

Thanks, pal. Hulk out!

STEVE
So, Bruce, about what we said-

SMART HULK
The time travel do-over? I don’t

know, that’s kind of outside my field of expertise...

Natasha nods at his Smart Hulk-ness, history between them.

NATASHA
You pulled this off. I remember a

time that was impossible, too.
He considers, then finally relents, pulling out his phone.

SMART HULK
I’m supposed to be on Oprah next

week, but I guess I could move things around.

INT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND, KITCHEN - NIGHT

TONY STARK DOES DISHES. He rinses with the sprayer. It goes everywhere. He wipes down the counter, including...

A PICTURE OF PETER PARKER. He stares.

INT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND, SIDE PORCH - NIGHT

Tony builds HOLO MODELS: Penrose diagrams, wormholes. He studies a STAR-SHAPED CAPACITOR, intrigued.

TONY Friday, you up?

FRIDAY Yes, sir.

TONY
I’ve had a mild inspiration, like

to see if it checks out. I would like to run one last sim before we pack it in for the night. This time, in the shape of a Mobius Strip, inverted.

31

FRIDAY Processing.

The model forms.

TONY
All right, give me the eigenvalue

of that particle, factoring in spectral decomp. Run it. That’ll take a second. And don’t worry if it doesn’t pan out, I’m just kind of...

THE CAPACITOR GLOWS. A HOLO-MAN DRIFTS INTO A CIRCULAR WORMHOLE, LOOPING...RETURNING TO THE PLACE IT FIRST LEFT.

FRIDAY Model rendered.

TONY (in awe)

Shit.

MORGAN STARK (O.S.)

Shit.
Tony turns to see HIS DAUGHTER in the doorway.

TONY
What are you doing up?

Shit.

MORGAN STARK

TONY
First of all, that’s a Mommy word,

she coined it.

MORGAN STARK Why are you up?

TONY
I just had something on my mind.

MORGAN STARK Was it juice pops?

TONY
Correct. Great minds think alike.

What kind do you want?

32

INT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND, MORGAN’S ROOM - NIGHT

Morgan eats A JUICE POP in bed. Tony watches.

TONY You done?

(finishing her popsicle) Now you are.

MORGAN STARK Tell me a story.

TONY
Once upon a time, Maguna went to

bed. The end.

MORGAN STARK That was a bad story.

He runs his hand over her hair.

TONY Love you tons.

MORGAN STARK Love you three thousand.

TONY Wow, that’s a lot.

Tony turns out the light, exits.

INT. STARK ECO-COMPOUND, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

PHOTOS crowd a side table: Pepper, Morgan, Tony. Even one of HOWARD STARK, PEGGY CARTER & HANK PYM UNDER A SHIELD SYMBOL.

Find...PEPPER, curled up on the couch reading. Then...

TONY (O.S.)
Out like a light. Don’t know how

much she loves you but she loves me three thousand.

PEPPER POTTS That’s up there.

TONY What’re you reading?

PEPPER POTTS
A book about composting-

33

TONY
I think I solved it.

Pepper looks up.

PEPPER POTTS
Just so we’re both talking about

the same thing-

TONY Time travel.

PEPPER POTTS That’s amazing.

TONY Yeah.

PEPPER POTTS And terrifying.

TONY
To say the least.

He sits beside her. She stares, SHARING IN HIS DILEMMA.

PEPPER POTTS We got really lucky-

TONY I know-

PEPPER POTTS Not everybody did.

TONY
I can’t help everybody.

PEPPER POTTS
Except, it sort of seems like you

can.

TONY
Not if I stopped right here.

PEPPER POTTS
Tony, trying to get you to stop is

one of the few failures of my life.

TONY
I could just lock the lab, put it

in a trunk, sink it to the bottom of the lake, and go to bed.

34

PEPPER POTTS But could you rest?

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, HANGAR - DAY

SCOTT WAITS IN HIS ANT-MAN 2 QUANTUM SUIT IN FRONT OF THE OPEN VAN DOORS.

SCOTT LANG
You’re sure these modifications are

safe?

He looks over to...SMART HULK, WEARING READING GLASSES, MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO A NEW CONTROL PANEL.

SMART HULK
I reran my calculations three times-

SCOTT LANG
Because the guy who invented this

thing is pretty much a genius-

SMART HULK
I have seven PhD’s, an MD, the Hans

Bethe Award for Physics, and I’m personal friends with Bill Nye the Science Guy. We’re good.

SCOTT LANG
Yeah. And you look like that on

purpose.
STEVE and NATASHA enter from outside.

STEVE
Breakers are set, emergency

generator’s on stand-by.

SMART HULK
Good. If we blow the grid, I don’t

want to lose Tiny back in the ‘50’s.

SCOTT LANG Excuse me?

NATASHA He was kidding.

SMART HULK I was kidding.

35

NATASHA (to Hulk)

You were kidding, right?

SMART HULK
Honestly, I have no idea. We’re

attempting time travel. Either it’s all a joke, or none of it is.

(loudly to Scott) We’re good! Helmet on.

Scott puts on his helmet, slightly dubious.

SMART HULK (CONT'D) Okay. I’m going to send you back

one week, give you an hour to look around, then bring you back in ten seconds. Make sense?

SCOTT LANG Perfectly not confusing.

STEVE
Good luck, Scott. You’ve got this.

SCOTT LANG (inspired)

Yes, I do, Captain America. Yes, I-
SMART HULK PULLS A LEVER. SCOTT SHRINKS TO NOTHING.

SMART HULK
Counting down from three, two,

one...
SUDDENLY SCOTT REAPPEARS...BUT HE’S 12-YEARS-OLD.

SCOTT LANG
Uh, guys? This doesn’t feel right.

NATASHA Is that Scott?

SMART HULK Probably...?

He scrambles, hitting buttons. SCOTT SHRINKS TO NOTHING.

STEVE Get him back!

Smart Hulk flips a switch. SCOTT REAPPEARS...AT AGE 93.

36

SCOTT LANG Oh, my back!

NATASHA
Bruce! Get it under control. What

the hell is going on?

SMART HULK
I got it, I know exactly what’s

going on. Pretty much.

SCOTT SHRINKS TO NOTHING AGAIN. HULK TYPES FRANTICALLY with A PENCIL, fingers too big for the keys.

2-YEAR OLD SCOTT APPEARS.

NATASHA Oh, my God.

STEVE It’s a baby.

SMART HULK It’s Scott.

STEVE As a baby!

Smart Hulk hits a button. Baby Scott disappears.

SMART HULK
When I tell you, kill the power!

(throwing a switch) Now!

NATASHA KILLS THE POWER. Normal Scott stumbles off the pad.

SCOTT LANG
Somebody peed my pants. I don’t

know if it was baby-me or old-me. Or just me-me.

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, HANGAR - DAY

Steve leans on the wall, discouraged. Then he hears AN ENGINE ROAR. AN AUDI races up the drive.

It stops, the window rolling down to reveal...TONY.

TONY
Why the long face? Wild guess, he

turned into a baby?

37

STEVE Among other things.

TONY
(getting out of the car)

EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you were pushing time through Lang. It’s dangerous. I probably should’ve cautioned you against it.

STEVE You did.

TONY
Thank god, I’m here. Regardless, I

fixed it.
He holds up...HIS STAR-SHAPED CAPACITOR.

TONY (CONT'D)
That is a fully-functioning, time-

space GPS. I just want peace. Resentment is corrosive. I hate it.

STEVE Me, too.

Something eases between them, for the first time in years.

TONY
We’ve got a shot at the Stones. I

just need you to know my priorities. Bring back everyone we lost, hopefully. Keep what I found, definitely. And, let’s not die trying.

Steve looks at Tony. Finally, he offers his hand.

STEVE Sounds like a deal.

They shake. This is a long time coming. Finally...

TONY
But wait, there’s more. Act now,

and it comes with a bonus offer.
Tony pops the trunk. Steve stares, moved, at...HIS SHIELD.

STEVE Tony, I don’t know-

38

TONY
What’s to know? He made it for

you. Plus, I gotta get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding.

Steve finally picks up the shield, SLIDING IT ONTO HIS ARM.

STEVE Thank you, Tony.

Tony chokes up, then covers by slamming the trunk.

TONY
Just don’t flaunt it. I didn’t

bring enough for the whole team. We are getting the whole team, right?

STEVE We’re trying.

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND, HANGAR - DAY

SCOTT sits on a bench, eating a hardshell taco. THEN A MASSIVE EXHAUST WIND BLASTS HIM, blowing his taco away.

THE BENATAR lands outside AVENGERS COMPOUND. NEBULA AND ROCKET EMERGE. Rocket waits at the end of the gangway.

ROCKET
Hey, Humie. Where’s Big Green?

SCOTT LANG Um, kitchen, I think.

Scott tries a smile at Nebula. She just hits her COM:

NEBULA (INTO COM) Rhodey, careful on re-entry.

There’s an idiot in the landing zone.

She goes in. THEN, WHAM, WAR MACHINE LANDS, STARTLING SCOTT.

SCOTT LANG Oh, my God!

RHODEY
What’s up, Regular-Sized Man?

Rhodey goes inside as SMART HULK walks out, carrying an overnight bag. He hands Scott some tacos.

39

ROCKET
Finally. I ain’t got all day.

SMART HULK I call shotgun!

As he walks up the Benatar’s gangway, PRE-LAP A METALLIC SCRAPING SOUND.

EXT. NEW ASGARD - DAY

The scraping goes on as we see...A NORWEGIAN FISHING VILLAGE. Tilt to a sign: “NEW ASGARD,” in English and ASGARDIAN RUNES.

A PICK-UP passes, scraping the pavement: SMART HULK AND ROCKET SIT IN BACK, WEIGHING DOWN THE TRUCK.

EXT. NEW ASGARD, VILLAGE - DAY

SMART HULK AND ROCKET WALK THROUGH TOWN. ASGARDIANS IN EARTHLY CLOTHES EYE THEM WITH SUSPICION.

ROCKET
What the heck are they looking at?

SMART HULK I’m kind of famous...

ROCKET
Yeah, I’m sure that’s it. Kind of

a step down from golden palaces and magic hammers...

SMART HULK
They lost Asgard, then half their

people. Maybe they’re just happy to have a home.

VALKYRIE (O.S.) You shouldn’t have come.

VALKYRIE approaches from the pier. Smart Hulk GRINS. SMART HULK

Hey, Valkyrie! Great to see you!
He goes for a hug...VAL DOESN’T. She studies the new him.

VALKYRIE
Uh huh. I liked you better either

of the other ways.

40

SMART HULK This is Rocket.

Hey.

ROCKET

VALKYRIE

Hey.
(to both)

He won’t see you.

SMART HULK
We didn’t say we were here to see-

VALKYRIE
Great, then you can hose out the

gut buckets-

ROCKET
We’re definitely here to see him.

VALKYRIE
He can’t give you what you need.

SMART HULK It’s that bad?

VALKYRIE
We only see him once a month. When

he comes in for “supplies.”
She nods to A DOZEN BEER KEGS STACKED OUTSIDE A PUB.

EXT. NEW ASGARD, CABIN - DAY

Smart Hulk and Rocket knock on the door of A CABIN. Nothing. INT. NEW ASGARD, CABIN - DAY

SMART HULK opens the door. PIZZA BOXES and LIQUOR BOTTLES litter the floor. Rocket recoils.

ROCKET Something died in here.

SMART HULK Hello...? Thor...?

THOR (O.S.)
Are you here about the cable?

We hear a HEAVY SHUFFLING as someone approaches.

41

THOR (CONT'D)
Cinemax went out two days ago, and

the sports are all...fuzzy...

THOR enters, CONFUSED, A LITTLE DRUNK, SHIRTLESS...AND TREMENDOUSLY FAT. Rocket and Hulk stare.

SMART HULK

Thor?
THOR

BROS! Thor hugs Smart

Yeah,

Hulk, Miek,

Bring it in!
Hulk. He turns to Rocket, who steps back.

ROCKET I’m good.

THOR
you know my boys, Korg and right?

KORG and MIEK sit on the couch, playing Playstation 4.

KORG
Beer’s in the bucket. Feel free to

log on to the WiFi.

SMART HULK
Hey, guys. Long time no-

KORG
Thor! This kid on the TV just

called me a dickhead!

THOR Noobmaster again?

KORG
NoobMaster69 called me a dickhead-

Thor snatches KORG’S HEADSET and hisses into the mic.

THOR
Noobmaster, this is Thor, again.

God of Thunder. This is your last warning. Log off this game or I will come to your basement, rip off your arms and shove them up your butt.

(handing the headset back) Right, who wants a drink?

42

SMART HULK AND ROCKET JUST STARE. Thor pulls a beer from the fridge, and whacks the cap against STORMBREAKER.

SMART HULK
Hey, buddy, are you all right?

THOR
Don’t I look all right?

ROCKET (under his breath)

You look like melted ice cream-

THOR
So, what’s up? Just here for

hang?

SMART HULK
We need your help. There’s a

chance we can fix everything.

THOR
Like the cable? It’s driving

bananas.

SMART HULK Like Thanos.

THOR GRABS HULK’S SHIRT, INTENSE. KORG

THOR
Don’t say that name.

a

me

RISES FROM THE COUCH.