Thanos has been knocking around in the shadows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for what feels like forever, but the Mad Titan will soon make himself known in Avengers: Infinity War, as he takes on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in his quest to claim all six Infinity Stones. And, if we’re reading some new comments from actor Josh Brolin correctly, this could be the villain’s final stand, too.
In the same interview in which he confirmed he has plans to star in four films as Cable for Fox, Brolin opened up about how he can fit in his appearances in the X-Men universe alongside his ongoing commitment to the MCU. In fact, the star revealed that it might not be a problem in the end, as playing Thanos is apparently “a finite thing.”
“I don’t like the idea of a franchise, personally. That’s what makes the Thanos thing really great. It’s a finite thing, and I like that.”
After Damion Poitier made a silent cameo in The Avengers, Brolin first took over the role for Guardians of the Galaxy, with another brief part coming in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Infinity War will be his first appearance as Thanos in three years, then, but the actor is making it sound like the event movie and its as-yet-untitled sequel Avengers 4 will be it for the heroes’ arch-nemesis.
This is a little surprising, for a few reasons. For one, Thanos has never been defeated for long in the comic books and has come up against Earth’s heroes many times. That said, the MCU has a history or killing off major characters pretty quickly (e.g. Red Skull, Quicksilver and Ultron). In terms of the movies, though, there is reportedly an Eternals film on the way, which could have found a role for Thanos.
As it happens, though, it seems that Iron Man and co. will take care of their enemy once and for all when they inevitably save the universe at the end of Avengers 4. Before they do that, however, there’s the little matter of Thanos actively threatening it first, and we’ll be able to witness the Mad Titan going on the warpath when Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27th.