The genocide that concluded Avengers: Infinity War wasn’t just a cliffhanger for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to resolve in next year’s Avengers: Endgame, but an event that affected everyone in this cinematic universe, whether they knew who Thanos was or not. You therefore have to wonder what the wider consequences of this cataclysmic event were, and in an interview with Empire, co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo teased the post-snap world that their upcoming film will reveal.
The Mad Titan’s decision to eradicate half of all life from the universe was supposedly intended to be for the benefit of the lucky survivors, in that it reduced the number of people competing for a finite supply of resources. But while the ethics of this solution are dubious at best, Anthony Russo has suggested that at least some good may have come from Thanos’ actions:
“These are characters and a story moving forward where Infinity War happened. The entire universe experienced the same fate, and has been brought together by this experience.”
As for Thanos himself, Joe Russo has reaffirmed that the villain accomplished all he’s set out to do, and now has no plans but to settle down and enjoy a quiet retirement:
“He’s succeeded in the thing he has set out to do. He’s done. He did it. He’s retired.”
Of course, seeing how pretty much the entire universe has a grudge against Thanos now, and the Avengers are presumably working on some way to reverse the Decimation, you can expect that the character won’t be able to enjoy his peaceful retirement for long. Sure enough, Endgame’s purple-tinted marketing material has made it clear that the Mad Titan will have an important part to play in next year’s release.
What exactly Thanos’ role in Avengers: Endgame will be remains a point of much speculation and debate, but we’ll find out when the film hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.