Avengers: Infinity War - Josh Brolin Teases "Complex, Next Level" Thanos
And he doesn't mind if you end up hating him.
Great villains are not born great, they grow great, as Don Corleone almost said.
Fans of the MCU are certainly hoping that's the case with Thanos, who will have had six years to grow into a great villain by the time Avengers: Infinity War hits next year, and the man playing him thinks they're going to deliver.
Speaking to Collider, Josh Brolin revealed that, along with the Russos and writers, Thanos has been crafted into a more layered villain than first expected, and what the response might be to him:
"If everybody hates me at the end of it, I don’t know, will it be worth it if it’s a great movie? Maybe.”
Given how Infinity War is probably going to go down, with Thanos completing the Gauntlet and quite possibly killing off a number of beloved heroes (even just temporarily), it's easy to understand why fans might end up hating him after the movie. Brolin also spoke about how the Russos have put in references to one of the greatest movies ever made in the Avengers:
"Look, I got Joe Russo who’s constantly resourcing like The Godfather and, ‘You have a gun to his f**king head.’ I’m like, ‘I love you so much. The fact that you’re taking an Avengers scenario and you’re turning it into a Godfather thing for us to be able to kind of hang our hat on is great, and to emotionalise the whole thing. I think they were very happy where they said, ‘We didn’t really realise that Thanos is going to be as complex as he is,’ and I think they were very appreciative with the stuff that we’re bringing to it."
That's an interesting turn for the Russos and Brolin to take the villain in, and suggests something bigger and better than most Marvel villains manage. There's a lot of expectation riding on Thanos over the next two Avengers movies, which is where the whole MCU has been building too, but the actor does think they've "more than" pulled it off, calling what they've done with the character "next level".
What do you expect from Thanos in Infinity War and Avengers 4? Let us know down in the comments.