Which Avengers: Infinity War deaths will stick?

Which dead characters will most likely return?

Based on my opinions and research I have conducted, these are the characters that I feel are more likely to return than to stay dead.

Gamora

Upon the release of Avengers: Infinity War many fans speculated that since Gamora was killed as a sacrifice to obtain the Soul Stone, her soul was likely inside that very stone. This means that in Avengers 4 when the team likely defeats Thanos and destroys the Infinity Gauntlet, Gamora could be released from the stone and return – possibly even to deal the killing blow to Thanos herself. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo recently spoke about this theory, and confirmed that it is implied that Gamora is inside the Soul Stone in the film’s final moments. This is what they had to say:

"“Yeah, it’s implied [that] it’s the Soul Stone. It’s all orange around, then he’s inside the Soul Stone with the amount of power that it took to snap his fingers – he has this out-of-body experience with Thanos. When he goes inside the Soul Stone he has this kind of conversation with the younger version of his Gamora.”"

So there you have it – while the directors did not state that Gamora would return, it seems highly unlikely that they would have her soul remain for any other reason.

Doctor Strange

While (somewhat surprisingly) there hasn’t been a Doctor Strange sequel announced, I am still very confident that the “wizard” – as Tony puts it – will return. Many believe that Doctor Strange let Thanos defeat him as it was the only way to in-turn defeat Thanos down the line. There is one very critical line of dialogue in the film where Strange reveals to Tony that he has seen 14 million scenarios where they battle Thanos and there is only one where they succeed – this has to be it, right?

Bucky Barnes (The Winter Solider)

It would be a very odd choice and a waste of the character to have Bucky die so unceremoniously. Across many films now, Marvel has been laying the groundwork for Barnes to eventually take up the mantle when the iconic Death of Captain America storyline is adapted in the cinematic universe.  Chris Evans has repeatedly stated that Avengers 4 will be his last outing as Captain America, and even if you do not believe that to be true there is no way Marvel lets this juicy storyline pass them by.

Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch)

As with Doctor Strange, Wanda was just recently introduced in the MCU and has yet to live up to her full potential. Think about it: Wanda still doesn’t know the extent of her powers and doesn’t have complete control of them – that seems like a very unlikely spot to end her character arc. Add to that the fact that actress Elizabeth Olsen is still very interested in continuing as the character and is actually going around pitching story ideas? I would be extremely surprised if Wanda did not return.

The following characters’ futures are much more uncertain in my eyes.