Avengers 4 Trailer Decoded: Every Character Analysed & Explored

8. Thanos (Josh Brolin

Thanos didn't need to be in this trailer at all: it's an emotional wreckage that has blossomed out of his act of violence, so his presence hangs over everything anyway. He is included in order to show the contradiction of what the surviving heroes are facing and the life he's "enjoying" in the wake of the snap. He has peace in retirement, seemingly and has hung up his armour.

It won't last and he'll be back in his armour pretty soon, as soon as he gets wind of whatever the Avengers are doing to undo his snap. That's why the visuals of his armour and his apparent tranquility are included: it's not just to say he's "done," it's to set up the inversion of that.

The question now is how much Thanos will even be involved in most of Avengers: Endgame. He's actually only as necessary to the first half as he is to this trailer because the story should focus more tightly on the fallout, the survivors and their plan to undo the Decimation. Cutting to Thanos sunning himself on his farm for more than a moment would be distracting and narratively disruptive since the whole idea is to enact a plan outside of his awareness.