The MCU’s Biggest Villain Was Only Meant To Be a Cameo: “It Turned Into This Whole Thing”

Josh Brolin’s character Thanos was unavoidable. Actor Damion Poitier played the Mad Titan in a post-credits scene in the 2012 film The Avengers, where we learned that Thanos orchestrated Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) attack on New York City. Later, in the 2014 movie Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn, Thanos made a brief appearance, instructing Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) to obtain the Orb, one of six powerful Infinity Stones, with Brolin taking on the role of the cosmic villain.

Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers, initially envisioned Thanos, the Death-fixated character, as the shadowy puppet master controlling both Loki and the Chitauri. This plan eventually positioned Josh Brolin’s purple-skinned alien as the main antagonist throughout the Infinity Saga. However, this idea started off as just a small role for Thanos.

In an interview with Happy Sad Confused, while discussing my latest film “Weapons”, Josh Brolin shared some interesting insights about his role as Thanos in the Marvel Universe. Initially, I was informed that the character would only make a brief appearance, essentially a cameo, during the production of the movie “Everest” in London. However, what started as a minor part grew into something much larger when the creators decided to expand the role, transforming it from a 10-minute appearance to a significant and expansive storyline.

Initially, Joss Whedon introduced Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet in a post-credits scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), but he didn’t plan for him to be the main antagonist in his Avengers series. Instead, he passed Thanos on to directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who were responsible for wrapping up a decade’s worth of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) storytelling in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. These films featured Earth’s most powerful heroes battling Thanos, who had amassed the six Infinity Stones and used their combined power to wipe out half of all life across the universe.

As a diehard fan myself, let me tell you, “I can’t help but express my delight about experiencing Deadpool 2. Josh Brolin, speaking of his second Marvel stint as the time-traveling Cable in Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool sequel, echoed this sentiment. If Marvel were to call me in London today and propose another Thanos adventure, I’d be ready to pack my bags and be there tomorrow.”

After Thanos died twice in the 2019 film “Endgame”, Brolin continued playing the character in episodes of Marvel’s animated series “What If…?”, where different universe versions of the snapped Thanos were presented. When asked about potentially working with the Russo brothers and Robert Downey Jr., his co-star from the Avengers films, on “Avengers: Doomsday”, Brolin expressed confidence that they would create something exciting as Downey Jr. has been cast as the villain Doctor Doom.

Brolin mused, “Well, nobody can truly predict the future, right? That project took a decade to develop and had its own unique timeline. I’m not certain about their plans, but I’m sure whatever it is will be intriguing. They have a knack for creating captivating stories.

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2025-08-07 20:20