There were many things that surprised fans about Avengers: Infinity War – not least all those shocking deaths at the end – but one of the biggest was just how layered an antagonist Thanos was. His cameos up to that point had led us to believe he was going to be a crazed despot out for galactic domination. In the end, though, the Mad Titan was depicted as someone who saw themselves as a hero, doing what needed to be done to ensure the survival of the universe – it just so happened that this involved wiping out half of all life everywhere.
The man who brought Thanos to live and managed to imbue him with such complex humanity was, of course, Josh Brolin, and the actor was quoted in the newly-released The Art of Avengers: Infinity War in which he discussed his character and the different sides to the purple villain. Interestingly, Brolin revealed that his preferred version of Thanos is the one he dubs “hut Thanos,” as the character is more real to him at that stage.
“He’s trying to balance the cosmos, and by doing that he’s having to destroy a lot of things. So there’s the warrior Thanos, and then there’s the Thanos that you see in the hut. I personally like the hut Thanos because it’s much more real…Â He’s perfectly and totally satisfied having accomplished what he set out to do,”
What Brolin’s referring to is the final scene of the movie in which the Titan has retired to some planet somewhere and is living a simple life in a hut. Having succeeded in halving the population of the universe, he’s seen to sit back and let out a smile as he’s achieved his life’s goal of bringing balance to all things. It’s a chilling moment for anyone else but him because, as Brolin says, he’s 100% convinced he’s just done the right thing.
Right now, we don’t know what’s next for Thanos in Avengers 4. It seems he’s won, but the surviving heroes won’t let him go without a fight, and we look forward to seeing what Brolin does with a version of the character who has to fight to protect what he’s achieved.
