As expected, the Avengers: Infinity War trailer was packed to the rafters with CG-laden spectacle and fist-pumping character moments.
Whether it’s Tony Stark and Star-Lord mulling over tactics (“let’s talk about this plan of yours. I think it’s good, except…it sucks”) or Gamora delivering an ominous warning message to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios has left viewers with a lot to unpack.
And amid the chaos was a shot of Thanos dressed to the nines in his gilded battle armor. Truth be told, the design is nothing we haven’t seen before, as Marvel’s Mad Titan has been a fixture of the film’s merchandise campaign from the very beginning. Still, it’s exciting to see a live-action version of Josh Brolin’s moody antagonist, and the following close-up was pulled from Collider’s frame-by-frame analysis of Infinity War‘s final showcase. Feast thy eyes:
He cuts an intimidating figure, that’s for sure. But if there’s one major takeaway from the Avengers: Infinity War trailer, it’s that Joe and Anthony Russo – along with screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus – have established Thanos in such a way that the audience is beginning to understand this nuanced, multi-layered antagonist.
There’s the familial ties to Gamora and Nebula, for one – pay close attention to the latest Infinity War trailer and you’ll see what appears to be a shot of Thanos reaching out to the young Gamora – not to mention the fact that his mission to assemble all six Infinity Stones is seen as a last-ditch attempt to save Titan, his ailing homeworld that will likely host the third act of Avengers: Infinity War. You know, once Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have successfully defended Wakanda from the Black Order and those six-armed Outriders.
