Avengers: Infinity War ended on an optimistic and life-affirming note, so long as you’re watching the movie from the perspective of its leading man Thanos, and after two-and-a-half hours of experiencing the Mad Titan’s difficult but ultimately triumphant journey, audiences were sent into the film’s ending credits with a smile across the villain’s big, purple face.
This eerie final image came up at yesterday’s Infinity War screening and Q&A hosted by directors Anthony and Joe Russo, giving the filmmaking pair an opportunity to explain their thinking behind the moment. According to /Film’s Peter Sciretta, the Russo Brothers recalled how they explored other ideas for their concluding shot, but the scene of Thanos smiling as he watches the sunset was arrived at early on in writing process when the team realized that this was very much the tyrant’s own movie. The Russos went on to clarify that the character is at this point a hero in his own mind who’s served a purpose larger than himself.
These statements seem in line with recent comments from actor Josh Brolin, who explained earlier this month that Thanos ends his film feeling “perfectly and totally satisfied having accomplished what he set out to do.”
Of course, since several of his victims still have to come back for sequels, it’s clear that Thanos’ fortunes will change in next year’s Avengers 4, and for much of 2018, the fans have been offering a variety of ideas for how the villain might be taken down, from time travel to even greater threats entering the picture. So while the space conqueror might be pretty content for the time being, don’t expect that smile to last once the Avengers: Infinity War sequel hits theaters on May 3rd, 2019.
