Early Drafts Of Avengers: Infinity War Included Thor’s Grandfather Bor Burison

Avengers: Infinity War is a film – nay, a cinematic event – with many moving parts.

Chief among them is Thor Odinson, who must journey across the cosmos in search of a weapon capable of killing the Mad Titan himself, Thanos. It’s a quest which steers him in the direction of Nidavellir, home to Eitri (Peter Dinklage) and his dwarven kin, ultimately leading to the creation of Stormbreaker.

But as Infinity War co-director Joe Russo revealed on the film’s commentary track (h/t CBM), early drafts of the Marvel epic shipped Thor off on a journey to find his grandfather, Bor Burison, who appeared briefly during the opening moments of The Dark World.

We explored a lot of different ideas of where Thor could go for that weapon. We even had versions of the story at one time where he was going to visit this sort of ghost of his dead grandfather – which was one version we were playing with that we didn’t end up using. I am happy where we had settled.

It would’ve resulted in a totally different character arc for Thor, who returns to Wakanda in the nick of time. How did Marvel’s God of Thunder know that the fate of the world – the fate of the universe, really – rests within Africa’s crown jewel, though? Simple: Thor knew Thanos was on the prowl for those all-powerful Infinity Stones, even if it’s still somewhat unclear how he was able to pinpoint the exact location of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Perhaps it’s just a case of suspending our disbelief?

Avengers: Infinity War beams onto Blu-ray and DVD next Tuesday, August 14th. And if you simply can’t wait, you’ll be pleased to know that the MCU’s crowning achievement is already available via digital means.