Ever since he was introduced in The Avengers mid-credits scene, Thanos has been lingering on the Marvel Cinematic Universe sidelines, but Avengers: Infinity War will finally seem him stepping out of the shadows and into the light. Following the failure of his subordinates and allies, the Mad Titan has taken it upon himself to oversee the acquisition of the six Infinity Stones personally, and if he obtains their collective power, he'll be able to reshape the universe as he sees fit. Looking at Thanos' mission in Infinity War, directors Joe and Anthony Russo stated to CinemaBlend during the recent set visit in Atlanta that the Marvel villain is similar to notorious Star Wars baddie Darth Vader, only multiplied by 10. As the brothers put it:
Anthony Russo: Well this movie is sort of [triggered] by Thanos' decision and an opportunity for him to make a very aggressive move for the stones. More so than he has at any point in the past. A more effective move for the stones than he has in the past. So when Thanos decides to do it, he really goes for it. And he's kind of one step ahead of our heroes through the movie. And he puts them through a lot of pain.Joe Russo: If you took Darth Vader and you multiply him times 10... look, our job with Thanos is to make him the preeminent villain in the Marvel Universe. That is his role in the comics. That's his role in these movies. And in order to be a preeminent villain you have to do some pretty bad things.
Not only is Darth Vader almost universally recognized as the most popular Star Wars villain, he's also gone down as one of cinema's greatest antagonists, so for Anthony and Joe Russo to say that Josh Brolin's Thanos will be like the Sith Lord times 10 is a bold claim. Granted, Thanos has been one of Marvel Comics' most important villains for decades, but as far as the MCU is concerned, he hasn't proven yet why he's so feared throughout the galaxy. Avengers: Infinity War is finally giving him the opportunity to shine, and if the Russos are to be believed, the trail of carnage and destruction he'll leave in his wake will show that he's even more intimidating than Vader, one of the most powerful beings to ever live in a galaxy far, far away.
Along with hyping up Thanos' reputation, the Russos also talked about how the evolution of visual effects technology has allowed them to improve the Mad Titan's look and what Josh Brolin is able to do with the character. Joe Russo continued:
As that technology evolves, we are able to bring more and more of what Josh Brolin can do as a performer into the fabric and the texture of what Thanos is in a way that we are extremely excited about, and I know that he is as an actor, our visual effects teams are pretty excited about it; That's, I think, one thing ... just figuring out, again, having such a cursory view of the character in the past, it's almost like now we get to do the flip side of that, where you're going to see every little vein on his face, and every little twitch that Josh does. It's a very, very intimate portrayal and performance.
Thanos last appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he was seen retrieving the Infinity Gauntlet from his vault and declaring that he'll "do it himself," i.e. find the Infinity Stones. Because Thanos is essentially serving as Avengers: Infinity War's main character, it's promising to hear that he'll look more realistic than ever, which helps enhance Josh Brolin's performance further.
Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on April 27, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage of the movie, and don't forget to check out our Marvel movies guide to learn what else this franchise has in development.
