He was the most dangerous, most powerful foe in the MCU for all of Phases 2 and 3, but Thanos was finally destroyed in Avengers: Endgame. Twice, in fact. After having such a major presence in the franchise before now and the victory of Endgame hinging on his defeat, there’s surely not much chance of the Mad Titan returning in the future, right?
Or is there? While speaking to CinemaBlend at Comic-Con over the weekend, Endgame writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus weighed in on the tricky issue. McFeely reminded us how anything is possible in the Marvel universe, and every death can be undone in some way. The problem is that you don’t want to undercut the stories you’ve previously told and the endings you’ve already put in place.
“It totally depends on your opinion of the multiverse and how you’re going to go forward with the idea of using characters who are gone, right? Certainly, comic book readers are pretty down with that. ‘Any way you can give me that character, give it to me.’ My grandmother’s not down with that. She knows Tony died. She knows that Thanos died. ‘Why is he back?’ … So the question becomes, what path will Marvel take going forward? I love the idea that things matter. They stick, and you don’t get a lot of get out of jail free cards.”
McFeely’s got a good point. Sure, Marvel fans are used to characters being resurrected via mystical means, time travel – as happens to Thanos in Endgame – or alternate universes, but bringing Thanos back would likely negatively affect the power of the way he was finally bested. In particular, Iron Man’s noble sacrifice would be proven pointless.
If Thanos can’t – or at least, shouldn’t – be brought back to life, then maybe he could return in a movie that took place prior to his death. Maybe even millennia before. As Eternals will feature Thanos’ kind, the Deviants, it’s theorized that Josh Brolin might find himself with a cameo in the film as a younger version of the future tyrant. But this is just speculation at present.
Tell us, though, would you like to see Thanos return to the MCU? Or was Avengers: Endgame the perfect final appearance for him? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
