An Avengers: Infinity War deleted scene features a moment in the Titan battle where Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) talks to Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) from the astral plane. The Joe and Anthony Russo-directed flick began the culmination of The Infinity Saga with the introduction of Thanos (Josh Brolin). Given this, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes come together with their other allies in the hopes of foiling the Mad Titan’s plan to kill half of all life in the universe for balance. One of those factions carried out their battle on the villain’s home planet.

Following Black Order member Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian’s failed attempt to snatch the Time Stone/Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange in New York, the Sorcerer alongside Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Peter Parker boarded the Q-Ship to Titan in the hopes of confronting Thanos. However, they’re greeted by some Guardians of the Galaxy: Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis. After a brief misunderstanding, the team eventually came together and devised a plan to ambush the Mad Titan.

Thanos proved to be a worthy adversary as the team scrambled to take away the gauntlet from him in the Infinity War fight. During the fight, Doctor Strange unleashes his full arsenal, including his ability to enter the Astral plane. In a deleted scene from the film shared on Reddit by a user with the handle HarryRyan, fans can see him reaching out to Peter and Mantis to inform them Thanos just used the Soul Stone to separate the souls from the Guardians’ physical bodies, and if they don’t anything about it quickly, the affected heroes can die. Watch the clip below:

Aside from Doctor Strange using the astral plane, the clip also highlights Mantis’ powers. The Guardians of the Galaxy hero joined the team in the second film after they defeated Ego (Kurt Russel). Known for being an empath, fans haven’t really seen the extent of her powers and capabilities - although based on what’s been shown thus far, she’s quite a powerful creature having been able to hold off Thanos in the same fight. She also put a handful of Thanos’ minions to sleep during the Avengers HQ battle in Avengers: Endgame. This bit directly links her to the Soul Stone, potentially being the only person from the MCU roster who can resolve the predicament that the Mad Titan put her fellow heroes in.

Seeing Doctor Strange using the astral plane during the fight on Titan would’ve been cool, but frankly, Avengers: Infinity War works just fine without it. The more important element from this scene is the discussion of how Thanos uses the Soul Stone against some of the Guardians of the Galaxy. For an Infinity Stone that demanded such a big sacrifice in the deaths of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), very little is still known about it. Seeing a version of this in the film could’ve shed a light on what it really does.

More: Marvel’s Original Plans For Thanos Would Have Improved His Character Journey

Source: Marvel Studios (via HarryRyan)

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