When it comes to analyzing fan theories here at Nerdist, we make no buts about it. Unless, of course, you’re talking about the deeply silly, surprisingly popular fan theory about Avengers: Endgame that involves Ant-Man, Thanos, and the deeply gross way that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes could defeat their big purple nemesis.

No strangers to wild speculation about their movies, Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo have heard it all by this point. From theories about Doctor Strange creating time loops to tinfoil hat-worthy ideas about the real reason Nick Fury paged Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame has inspired more fan theories than most. But all of these pale in comparison to the current memetic theory du jour: that Ant-Man will be the one to defeat Thanos by shrinking down to minuscule proportions, crawling into Thanos’ butt, then growing to a massive size in order to turn Thanos into the aftermath of a Gallagher show.

At a recent Los Angeles press day for Avengers: Endgame, I sat down with the Russo Brothers to pick their brains about where they’d like to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe go from here, which up-and-coming directors should tackle a Marvel movie next, and, yes, this truly bonkers fan theory.

As for whether or not it’s accurate? Well, our own Kyle Hill did the ass-rithmetic on this week’s Because Science and came to some startling conclusions.

But is it canon? Well, according to the Russo Brothers, in spite of all the fan speculation, no one has actually guessed what’s going to happen.

“Joe and I spent our entire lives as fans, so the idea that the audience can participate in these stories is important to us,” explained Anthony Russo. “The idea that they’re out there using their own imaginations and creativity to think about where these characters can go, where these stories can go… it’s magnificent. Sometimes, you know, people will say things that’s kind of next door to something we’re doing, but oddly enough nobody ever, no one ever thinks of it exactly. There’s so much variation and so many odds in terms of how these things unfold that the specific narrative, nobody actually guesses that.”

Then again, given their penchant for using fake footage in trailers, this could be an elaborate smokescreen to distract us from the truth: that the “end” in Endgame is a thinly veiled reference to Thanos’ rear end. We’ll just have to wait and see for ourselves.

Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26, 2019.

Images: Disney/Marvel

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about  the Avengers and Star Wars. Follow him  on Twitter!