Josh Brolin Only Agreed To Play Thanos Because He Fights ALL The Avengers

Thanos actor Josh Brolin says he only took on the role because the Titan takes on all of the superheroes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Brolin first took on the role for a brief appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, and returned in the mid-credits scene for Avengers: Age of Ultron. He was then essentially the lead in Avengers: Infinity War, lending depth and emotion to the villain as he successfully hunts down the Infinity Stones.

Brolin's Thanos engaged in a number of epic battles in Avengers: Infinity War, first fighting Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, and most of the Guardians of the Galaxy on Titan, before arriving in Wakanda and tackling the rest of the Avengers. Once there, he kills Vision, defeats Scarlet Witch and Thor, and snaps half of all life in the universe out of existence. Brolin returned as Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, once again taking on all the remaining Avengers in the first third of the film, and fighting all of the assembled heroes in one of the largest and most epic cinematic battles ever at the movie's climax.

Now, Brolin reveals that he wouldn't have taken on the role of Thanos if the villain had been facing off against just one of the Avengers. Speaking to legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins and his wife, James, on their podcast Team Deakins, Brolin says that when he signed up to appear as Thanos he was given a character bible and it revealed that Thanos would be taking on all of The Avengers in the Infinity War saga. Brolin also reveals that when he first signed on to the role, it was just a cameo, which didn't pay very well. You can read Brolin's full comments below:

"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."

Brolin's comments reveal that not only was the plan to have Thanos take on all The Avengers baked into the character from early on, but also that Marvel Studios clearly wasn't sure they'd follow through on those plans from the beginning. By only signing him on for his first appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel was likely giving themselves an out in case the Infinity War sage didn't play out the way they wanted it to. Clearly, though, it did and Brolin was brought back for further appearances.

It's also interesting to note that Brolin was obviously not keen on playing a stock villain in a smaller Marvel movie, but was holding out for a more complex and impactful villain role to make his superhero movie debut. As it turned out, the role he got was probably the biggest bad seen in a superhero movie to date, so his choice worked out. It would be interesting to know, though, who would have taken on the role if Brolin turned it down, and how different Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame would have been if he had.

Next: How Old Thanos Is In All Infinity Saga MCU Movies

Source: Team Deakins