Josh Brolin Explains How He Was Convinced To Play Thanos In The Avengers: Infinity War And Endgame

Thanos in Endgame

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a behemoth force in the entertainment world, one that countless actors would love to the opportunity to join. But career decisions of this kind can be difficult, especially for more established actors who are choosing projects carefully. Josh Brolin had an acclaimed tenure as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but he wasn't necessarily eager to join the MCU. And now he's explained what convinced him to play the Mad Titan.

Thanos was the overarching big bad of the Infinity Saga, with his appearance teased back with the original Avengers movie. Josh Brolin made his debut as the character with a small role in Guardians of the Galaxy, before dominating the screen in Infinity War and Endgame. Brolin recently spoke about his decision to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Mad Titan, saying:

I turned down quite a bit of those things and again people were like ‘money!’ When I said yes to Avengers it was a small thing. It was basically a cameo, so there was not a lot of money involved. So that wasn't the reason. But when they came to me they gave me a big bible. I loved that it was all [of them]. If it had been one of the Avengers - and I don't mean this, I probably shouldn't say this but I'm just gonna say it - I probably wouldn't have done it. But the fact that it was all the Avengers against this one guy. I liked that aspect of it.

I mean, the man's got a point. Because while Marvel villains usually go toe to toe with one hero, Thanos' power was on another level entirely. And once he started acquiring Infinity Stones, he was able to take all of the Avengers and Guardians at once. This change in power is exactly what got Josh Brolin so interested in playing the big purple villain that we all love to hate.

Josh Brolin's tenure in the MCU can be re-watched on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

The Deadpool 2 actor was honest about his reasoning, mentioning a few offers that he turned down in the past. This will no doubt start countless fan theories, as superhero fans wonder what might have been. And while admitting that the money would have been good, it's the power of Thanos that ultimately inspired him to suit up in motion capture pajamas and bring the big purple guy to life.

Unfortunately for fans of Josh Brolin's Thanos, the character seemingly perished for good in Avengers: Endgame. The character actually died twice throughout the course of the movie's runtime; he was decapitated by Thor in the opening sequence, and the 2014 version of the villain was snapped out of existence by Tony Stark. We'll just have to see if the Mad Titan makes another appearance via flashback or dream sequence in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Marvel as details become public. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan our next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.