Joss Whedon says Thanos will be in The Avengers 2, but other villains will be shaking up the hero team

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

As it has been said countless times since the end credits rolled on the first film, Thanos is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  We have heard over and over again that he would make an appearance in THE AVENGERS 2 and possibly GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, but this seems to be the first we are hearing that he may not be the primary antagonist in either film.

Going back to a quote from Marvel honcho Kevin Feige last year, he indicated the presence of Thanos was going to be felt for a long time to come:

“Clearly, there’s a purpose to us putting him in the end of that movie. We do have plans for him. I wouldn’t say we ever feel the need to rush anything one way or the other. We succeeded in Phase One because we stuck to our guns and stuck to the plan. That plan took place over many, many years and it ultimately paid off. I see Phase Two unfolding in the same way of us taking our time, us doing what’s right for each individual movie, while folding in elements that will not only build up to the culmination of Phase Two, but even Phase Three."

Marvel and Disney have seemed to have formulated a master plan for their film universe, all of which culminates with THE AVENGERS movies.  Thanos is such a vast villain that he needs to be more than someone who shows up and is either killed or destroyed at the end of a single film.  What makes Loki work so well is that he appeared in THOR, then in THE AVENGERS, and will be back in THOR: THE DARK WORLD.  His presence reverberates through the Marvel films which gives him that much more presence.  So, what will happen with Thanos?  Joss Whedon recently told Desde Hollywood this about Thanos:

He is so powerful he is not someone you can just try out and punch him. Like he did in the comics, you want him threading through the universe and to save the big finale for the big finale. He is definitely a part of what I have got going on.

The thing about The Avengers is that they are very powerful but not very stable. So, there will definitely be some people that will shake them up in the next installment.”

We have not heard any rumors as to who these other villains might be, but I like that Thanos is being "threaded in" and not just thrown at the audience.  For every person who knew who the Mad Titan was last summer, there were three who had no clue.  Bringing Thanos into the movies as a phantom menace (sorry, but it actually works here!) is the best approach to making him that much more perilous.

The foregone conclusion for THE AVENGERS 2 is that the team will fail.  This is going to the THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of the Marvel movies and our team cannot always win.  In the movies, seeing the good guys lose and then have to rebuild is more dramatic then having them just succeed over and over again.  I hope that what we end up getting in the sequel lives up to what we are all hoping for.

THE AVENGERS 2 opens on May 1, 2015.