The Marvel Cinematic Universe is on a serious hot streak right now. Every single movie in Phase Three has been met with critical acclaim and massive box office performance. And as more blockbusters are released, we get close to both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 which will be the accumulation of the entire shared universe and last decade of movies. After first being teased at the end of The Avengers, Thanos will finally arrive to battle the MCU's heroes and presumably kick some major ass. Thanos is played by Josh Brolin, and he recently penned a sweet tribute to the character after wrapping Avengers 4. Check it out.
There's just something about this that I love: a creative, out of the box bent on one of the greatest roles and times playing a role I've ever had. Doing Infinity War was like doing a limitless black box experimental theatre piece in the lower Eastside of New York City in 1975, mixed with Antonin Artaud, the living theatre, Grotowski's Poor Theatre and a dash of punk rock acting surrounded by shiploads of talent. It's once in a lifetime.
While some critics claim that the superhero genre has become stale through superhero fatigue, Josh Brolin feels quite the opposite. Brolin revealed how working through the big purple villain has actually felt like a moment of experimental theater. While there's no way for fans to truly understand what he means yet, perhaps this means that Thanos could end up being a truly unique and layered villain.
Josh Brolin's Instagram post may be a relief to the millions of Marvel fans out there. While MCU installments are consistently well received, there is an aspect of the shared universe that has been noticeably lacking: the villains. With the exception of Tom Hiddleston's Loki, the majority of Marvel's villains have left something to be desired. They're typically only used for one film before being killed off, and rarely have anything to their characterization besides pure evil. While Loki has different colors and layers to his characterization, most of the MCU's villains have been lacking.
Luckily, Josh Brolin has two films to flesh out Thanos, which should allow for a more nuanced performance and overall storyline. Perhaps its this freedom that will help Thanos rise to the likes of Loki iconography. We'll just have to wait and see.
Thanos isn't Josh Brolin's only comic book character coming down the pipeline. In addition to playing the MCU's ultimate villain, Brolin will make his X-Men universe debut this year playing Cable in Deadpool 2. This role will no doubt allow Brolin to flex his comedic muscles, and be a hero after spending two films as a planet destroying villain.
Avengers: Infinity War will arrive in theaters May 4th, 2018. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies this year.
