According to actor Benicio del Toro, his Marvel character The Collector may have survived Avengers: Infinity War after all. Despite the fact that The Infinity Gauntlet comic kicks off with Thanos eradicating half of all life in the universe with the snap of his fingers, it was still a shock that Marvel Studios actually included the moment in their loose adaptation of the story. After spending the whole film detailing the quest for the Infinity Stones, Thor's hubris allowed Thanos to live long enough to finish his original mission. But even before a number of Avengers and Guardians were wiped out, Thanos killed off some key MCU characters.

Marvel may be pretending some heroes are dead, but we know the likes of the Guardians, Black Panther, and Spider-Man will all be back before their next films. But there are a few deaths that are more likely to stick. Loki and Heimdall could very well be gone for good - and then there's The Collector. Benicio del Toro didn't have much to do in Avengers 3, but Thanos acquiring the Reality Stone seems to have led to the death of the Elder. Or did it?

CinemaBlend spoke with Benicio del Toro while promoting the film Sicario: Day of the Soldado and asked him point blank if The Collector was still alive. He said:

I think he's alive. Yeah... I think that, you know, I think he's alive. You're talking to him!

Del Toro's response not only seems jokey, but there's no telling if he's an authority on what Marvel has planned. Of course, if The Collector turns out to be in Avengers 4, then he would know his character's fate. The issue stems from Thanos using the Reality Stone to put on a show for Gamora, meaning we don't really know what went down when The Collector's place was (once again) destroyed. Was The Collector disappearing his actual death within the illusion, or was that part of the trick?

We know Kevin Feige wants The Grandmaster and The Collector to team-up, so it does seem like the Elder of the Universe is somehow safe. After all, The Grandmaster seemed to be close to death when Thor: Ragnarok ended only to show up on Earth living with Darryl (though it's safe to assume that may not be canon). Regardless, losing a powerful character and actor in such an unceremonious way would seem like a waste.

Del Toro wants to work with Jeff Goldblum as well, bringing the two meddling brothers together in what would be a perfect pairing for a cosmic film with the tone of Guardians of the Galaxy. So if The Collector is dead, there's a lot of MCU potential that dies with him. With all the mystery surrounding Avengers 4, there's no telling who really survived Thanos' mission - but fans will likely prefer to trust del Toro and assume The Collector made it out of Avengers: Infinity War alive.