The Marvel Cinematic Universe usually keeps fans on their toes, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Without a doubt the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movie is Avengers: Doomsday, which will feature a huge cast and a multiversal story. Fans are wondering which surprise characters might appear, and Josh Brolin might have just teased his possible return as Thanos.
What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is limited, leaving fans to fill in the blanks about what The Russo Brothers have up their sleeves. With the multiverse is in play, it seems like pretty much any character could appear; just look at Robert Downey Jr. returning as Doctor Doom. In an interview with ET, Josh Brolin was asked if he'd be down to play Thanos again in live-action, to which he responded:
If Joe Russo comes to me, which he may have I don’t know, then I might acquiesce. Probably pretty quickly.
What do you mean you don't know, Mr. Brolin? Has Joe Russo reached out about appearing in one of the next two Avengers movies as Thanos? The actor is playing coy, but smart money says that fans are going to hear these comments and hold our hope for another appearance by the Mad Titan. After all, the Weapons star seems open to another collaboration with the Russos.
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Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were treated to a major payoff when Thanos showed up in Infinity War and Endgame. He remains the biggest villain in the entire shared universe, responsible for wiping out half of all life after collecting the Infinity Stones and snapping his fingers. While Iron Man sacrificed himself to Brolin's character at the end of Endgame, the multiverse makes just about anything possible.
Funny enough, the Dune actor recently did get to play Thanos after the Avengers movies, albeit through animation. Brolin voiced the character for three episodes of What If...?, showing different variants of the hulking villain. Still, I have to assume that fans would lose their minds seeing the cosmic antagonist back on the big screen.
As previously mentioned, Marvel's tight security has been keeping details about The Russo Brothers' pair of movies. While Doomsday's cast announcement revealed a ton of confirmed characters, Kevin Feige teased that it doesn't include every single actor in the blockbuster. So it's not out of the realm of possibility to think the filmmakers might have a plan to reunite with Josh Brolin and bring Thanos back to the shared universe.
All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters next December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Secret Wars will follow suit on December 17th, 2027. We'll have to see if either title includes Thanos.