The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in great shape as they press ahead deeper into Phase 3. This year, they will be releasingGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,Spider-Man: HomecomingandThor: Ragnarok, all of which will help build momentum that leads us toInfinity War. The movie recently started filming and we know that virtually every hero in the MCU is going to show up, but one of the main attractions is Thanos, who has been teased as a big bad since 2012. It looks like Marvel knows how important his presence is, because he is reportedly the main character inAvengers: Infinity War.
The news comes courtesy ofScreen Rant, who visited the set ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2back in April. During their set visit, they spoke with producerRob Keyes, who talked a bit about the fact that the MCU movies typically focus on their heroes and not as much on their villains. He proceeded to say that Thanos will be different in that, he could be considered the main character in the upcomingAvengers: Infinity War. Here is what he had to say.
“Well, I mean, it always varies, but it always starts with what serves the story the most and what serves the hero the most. We’ve been criticized, if a big criticism of ours is that we focus on the heroes more than the villains, I think that’s probably true. I don’t think it will always be true and I think some of you spoke to Chris and Steve at theCivil Warjunket. When the heck was that, yesterday? Last week? And they talked about, in appropriately oblique terms, Thanos. Thanos in Infinity War is, you know, in a movie that has a lot of characters, you could almost go so far as to say he is the main character, and that’s a bit of a departure from what we’ve done before, but that was appropriate for a movie called Infinity War.”
As much as audiences and fans love the MCU, weak villains have been something of an issue, with perhaps the exception being Loki up to this point. WithThanos, he has only had mere seconds of screen time over the course of five years, but he is one of the most powerful villains in theMarvel Universeand has been teased for a very long time, so having him be another underdeveloped villain isn’t an option. That said, it is fairly surprising to hear that he is considered to be the main character inAvengers: Infinity War. That would certainly be a huge change of pace and would present the audience with a totally different perspective.
Avengers: Infinity Warand the untitledAvengers 4are going to be shooting back-to-back this year in Atlanta and the U.K. The two movies were originally billed as part 1 and part 2, but that changed last year. Even so, it seems likeAvengers: Infinity Warcould follow Thanos on his adventure to gather up the Infinity Stones and make his way to Earth. Then,Avengers 4could focus a bit more on the battle with Thanos after he gets his power. That is just speculation, but using the first movie to really build up Thanos will make the massive battle that is surely on the horizon much more impactful. He won’t just be big, purple cannon fodder forThe Avengers.
The next twoAvengersmovies are being directed byJoe RussoandAnthony Russo, who directed bothCaptain America: The Winter SoldierandCaptain America: Civil War. The cast includesJosh Brolin,Chris Hemsworth,Sebastian Stan,Scarlett Johansson,Jeremy Renner,Chris Evans,Elizabeth Olsen,Samuel L. Jackson,Paul Rudd,Paul Bettany,Chadwick Boseman,Mark Ruffalo,Tom Holland,Benedict Cumberbatch,Chris Pratt,Zoe Saldana,Dave Bautista,Karen Gillan,Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper},Benedict Wong,Brie LarsonandRobert Downey Jr.Avengers: Infinity Waris scheduled to hit theaters on July 20, 2025, withAvengers 4set to come out a year later on July 07, 2025.
