Josh Brolin has played many famous roles in a career that spans from The Goonies in 1985 to his new survival horror-thriller Whalefall, which is now opening in theaters. However, Brolin’s most famous and iconic film role is ironically the one where he’s hidden behind the most makeup and visual effects: The Mad Titan, Thanos, the first big bad villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.
Now the Marvel Cinematic Universe is reaching the finale chapters of its next big story arc, “The Multiverse Saga,” and is introducing Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) as the next big bad for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. As the MCU moves on, Josh Brolin is still feeling the impact from his time as Thanos, something he shared with us during New York Comic-Con.
ComicBook’s Chris Killian caught up with Josh Brolin during the NYCC press lines for Whalefall, and asked how it’s felt seeing the world of the MCU and its fandom all still “traumatized” by what Thanos did. “It’s been amazing, man!” Brolin responded. “I mean, the impact that that character had, and what they came up with and how it was utilized, and how it’s landed, is major!”
Thanos became the biggest thing in pop culture when Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) were released. Since his death(s) in Endgame, he’s remained a cinematic icon who lives on in memes, cosplay, quotables, comedic parodies, and licensing deals (Fortnite). In fact, Brolin’s Thanos has remained so popular and iconic that there have been rumors that he will be a surprise addition to Avengers: Doomsday, playing a fan-favorite version of Thanos. Brolin doesn’t outright deny the possibility of Thanos’ return, but also thinks the character has left enough of a mark already:
“People ask, you know: ‘Are you going to come back? Are you going to do it again?’ That kind of thing. It’s beside the point: if it happens, it happens. But what has happened has been wonderful. And it’s impacted me in a major way, because I loved doing it. It was really fun. There were a couple of movies around that time that I didn’t love doing as much, but that one…. Especially with Joe and Anthony Russo, and all the guys.”
We can’t help but point out that while filming Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Josh Brolin also returned for the action-thriller sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and the X-Men spinoff film Deadpool 2. It wouldn’t be surprising to learn Brolin didn’t love doing the Sicario sequel without the first film’s director, Denis Villeneuve (Dune trilogy); but now we have to wonder if he also meant playing Cable in director David Leitch’s Deadpool sequel. It would help explain why he appreciated playing a Marvel role like Thanos so much.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on December 18th. Do you think Josh Brolin’s Thanos will show up in it? Let us know in the comments!
