Bradley Cooper Defends Thanos' Snap in Avengers: Infinity War

Bradley Cooper thinks Thanos (Josh Brolin) has a point in Avengers: Infinity War. The Oscar-nominated actor boarded the MCU in 2014 via James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, providing the voice of Rocket Raccoon. Since then, the character has appeared two more times (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers 3) and quickly become a fan-favorite much like the rest of his cosmic superhero teammates.

Infinity War was the beginning of the culmination of everything that has transpired in the franchise over the last 10 years, with the ultimate finale set up for next year's Avengers 4. Not much is known regarding what lies ahead for the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, following Thanos' victory, but many expect that the concept of time-travel, as well as the Quantum Realm, will factor in the narrative. A final showdown between the Avengers and the Mad Titan is already locked down with the former doing everything they can to restore order in the universe and take the villain down once and for all. But despite the havoc that Thanos' arrival brought into the MCU, Cooper reveals that he sort of understands where the intergalactic bad guy was coming from.

While promoting his latest project, which also marks his directorial debut, A Star is Born, Cooper sat down with BBC 1 and was asked about his voice acting gig in the MCU. And given that Rocket's latest appearance was in Infinity War, the actor was questioned about his thoughts on the film where he admitted that a part of him somehow rooted for the Mad Titan.

“Yeah. It was amazing. That’s why that movie works. Thanos is… What a character. The fact that he made you, kind of, go like ‘He’s got a point, right? He’s got a point.’ And part of me is like ‘I’m glad he’s sitting there on his chair, with the sun coming down.’ I mean, I hate that half of the world’s dead, but there’s a part of me that’s like, ‘He succeeded!’ I don’t know what that says about me.”

Thanos Time Travels to Titan in Avengers Infinity War

Whether or not one sees a point in Thanos' motivation in Infinity War, people can appreciate the fact that his reasoning isn't rooted in greed like the generic MCU villain. It's no secret that amidst the success of the superhero franchise, one of its recurring problems is its usually underdeveloped and unmemorable villains - something that they seem to be working on with bad guys like Spider-Man: Homecoming's Vulture (Michael Keaton), Black Panther's Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and the Mad Titan. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, alongside writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, were able to find a way to ground the character in a way that viewers can empathize with him, even if they know that what he's doing is ultimately wrong.

Considering that Rocket was among the heroes (and the only official Guardians of the Galaxy) who survived Thanos' galactic genocide, he's expected to play a significant part in next year's still-untitled Avengers film. And if going by what worked in Avengers: Infinity War, the Russo Brothers would more likely opt to team him up again with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) given the two's solid chemistry. After that, the character, alongside the rest of the cosmic team's fate, remains bleak following the firing of Gunn that resulted in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' production being put on indefinite hold.