Thanos did destroy all six Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame, Marvel confirms. Functioning as the MacGuffins of the Infinity Saga, the elemental crystals played a big role in Avengers: Infinity War and its direct sequel. As the MCU moves towards Phase 4, fans can expect the crystals to not explicitly factor in any of the upcoming narratives since they no longer exist in the primary universe.

It took a while for the MCU to confirm the existence of the Infinity Stones with Captain America: The First Avenger referring to the Space Stone simply as the Cosmic Cube. The next four gems (Mind, Reality, Power, and Time) factored in subsequent films with the Soul Stone's reveal saved for Infinity War. After successfully gathering all six crystals, Thanos was able to snap half of life in the universe out of existence, leaving the heroes undermanned and defeated in Endgame. Things got worse when the Mad Titan told them that there's no way to reverse the decimation because he destroyed the Infinity Stones.

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Thanos may be an egomaniac, but as Nebula (Karen Gillan) said, he's not a liar. Marvel Studios confirmed that the elemental crystals are indeed destroyed. A new Instagram post to celebrate Infinity War's arrival on Disney+ gives fans a crash course on the Infinity Stones, as well as the Infinity Gauntlet, including details about their current status - all of them are deemed destroyed. Check out the clip below:

Since the Infinity Stones have supposedly left served their purpose, Thanos opted to fully destroy them so that the Decimation could not be undone. At that point, both he and the Avengers didn't think there's another way to acquire the stones - that's until Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) brought up the idea of time travel. While Nebula vouched for his adoptive father's honesty, fans also didn't see Thanos actually destroying the Infinity Stones, leaving the door open for Marvel Studios to walk back on this plot point. It's worth noting that directors Joe and Anthony Russo also floated the idea that the gems still exist in the main universe, explaining that "Thanos only reduced the stones to the atomic level. The stones are still present in the universe." With this latest confirmation from Marvel, however, it's safe to say that the only possible way for the gems to make their way back into the primary MCU timeline is if they're taken from another timeline or the past - similar to what the Avengers did in the time heist. Admittedly, this is a more complicated way to factor them again in Phase 4 and beyond, but at least the option to do that is present with the Quantum Realm technology already established.

While the Infinity Stones no longer in the primary MCU reality, there are still some lingering questions about them, particularly their origins. At this point, there's no urgency in answering that mystery, especially since the franchise is moving away from the Infinity Saga. Marvel Studios may not bring them back anytime soon following their destruction in Avengers: Endgame, however, with Chloe Zhao's Eternals delving into the universe's unknown history, it's possible that the upcoming film may also reveal where the crystals actually come from.

More: Every MCU Replacement Hero Appearing In Marvel's Phase 4

Source: Marvel Studios