How Thanos Can Return In Marvel Phase 4

Thanos (Josh Brolin) is dead, but he can still return in the MCU's Phase 4. Marvel Studios is currently on a transition period now that the Infinity Saga is complete, which means the franchise is setting up a new overarching narrative that will also ultimately have a culmination down the road. Part of this rebuilding period is introducing fresh key players and intertwining their stories with the surviving heroes. As fans eagerly wait to see who the MCU's new big bad guy is, there's still a possibility that the previous one — the Mad Titan, himself, Thanos — will somehow make his way back into the forefront of the universe.

Marvel Studios had been teasing the arrival of Thanos as early as Kenneth Branagh's Thor. Since then, he appeared in several succeeding films via cameos, but it wasn't until Avengers: Infinity War that he was officially introduced. Thanos successfully accomplished his mission of wiping out half of life in the universe in the hopes of achieving balance, dealing the Avengers' their first real defeat. Five years after, however, Earth's Mightiest Heroes re-assembled to bring back all those who perished and subsequently take down Thanos once and for all in Avengers: Endgame. The villain suffered the same fate as his victims did with Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) wielding the power of all six stones to snap the Mad Titan and his minions out of existence.

Now, the primary MCU timeline exists without the threat of Thanos haunting it. However, between various storytelling formats and the establishment of the multiverse, there's a string of ways Marvel Studios can bring back the purple alien into the franchise if they want to.

The Eternals Can Explore Thanos' Backstory

Due to time constraints, Avengers: Infinity War wasn't able to fully delve deep into Thanos' history. This is despite the fact that much of the film's screen time was devoted to the villain with the rest divided to the remaining massive cast. Viewers learned of his story in fragments as he recalled some of its most important moments — first to Gamora (Zoe Saldana), as they talked about him kidnapping her from her home planet, and second to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) when he justified his motivations for genocide. Avengers: Endgame didn't really focus anymore on him, so there was no more opportunity to further explore his backstory. That all can change in Chloe Zhao's Eternals.

The Phase 4 fill will introduce MCU's newest group of heroes, Eternals — a group of of super-powered beings created by the Celestials who are essentially immortals. It boasts as a star-studded cast including Angelina Jolie as Thena, Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Gemma Chan as Sersi, Barry Keoghan as Druig, and Kit Harington as Black Knight. While it's primarily set after the events of Endgame, Eternals' story will span thousands of years, meaning that it might also act as a prequel to the MCU.

So how might Thanos factor into Eternals? In Infinity War, fans learned that Marvel Studios seems to be sticking to the character's comic book lineage being the son of A'lars — a bit revealed by Red Skull when her traveled to Vormir with Gamora. Meanwhile, unused concept art for the same film shows the younger and slimmer Mad Titan with his Eternals family. Thanos noticeably looks different than the rest because he is a Deviant offspring. If A'lars' story somehow factors in Eternals, it would make the movie the perfect avenue to further learn about Thanos' upbringing before he became the ruthless villain he's mostly known to be.

Thanos Could Appear In The MCU's Multiverse

Avengers: Endgame dabbled a bit with the concept of a multiverse following the Time Heist, and while Spider-Man: Far From Home used it as a red herring, that doesn't mean that the MCU won't be exploring alternate realities in the future. The existence of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in itself is proof of that. While plot specifics for the sequel are still scant at the moment, its title alone hints at what fans can expect from it. The multiverse could also factor in Disney+ shows like WandaVision and Loki since they're confirmed to connect to the Benedict Cumberbatch-led movie.

With the multiverse becoming more prominent in the MCU, Marvel Studios can utilize the concept in a lot of different ways. Thanos destroyed the Infinity Stones in Endgame, and given that the stones are integral for safeguarding reality, this may have kickstarted the Multiverse of Madness, effectively tying Thanos to Strange's upcoming mission. Meanwhile, since Loki will feature a pre-redeemed version of the character who had just connived with Thanos to take over Earth in the Battle of New York, it's possible that he would attempt to reach out to the Mad Titan for help. This would be a great way to incorporate Thanos in the project, perhaps to show viewers what their dynamic was like while they were still in cahoots with each other.

Arguably the most interesting possibility, however, is Thanos in WandaVision. As Scarlet Witch told him in Endgame, he took away everything from her when he ruthlessly killed Vision in front of her in Infinity War. If the sitcom-inspired series features Wanda losing her mind, resulting in her going through various realities, it will be intriguing to see her have the chance to encounter and once again confront Thanos for all of his trespasses against her.

Could Thanos Return From The Dead In Phase 4?

Aside from the previously mentioned ways that Thanos can appear in MCU Phase 4, the Mad Titan can also be resurrected in the main universe. To be clear, this would be the 2014 version of the character who hijacked the Avengers' HQ, and not the 2023 iteration of the character. After the tragic ending of Avengers: Infinity War, the surviving heroes thought there was no other way to reverse the effects of the Decimation, but that all changed when Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) raised the idea of the Time Heist in Avengers: Endgame. With the Infinity Stones no longer usable in their timeline, they had to travel to different points in MCU's history to collect all six elemental crystals that they can use to bring back all those who perished. Like how Smart Hulk's (Mark Ruffalo) snap brought back all those who turned to dust in Infinity War in its sequel, the same can be done for Thanos.

Thanos' (and his minions') fate in Endgame isn't unlike Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Scarlet Witch, Black Panther's (Chadwick Boseman) and half of the galactic population in Infinity War. Now that the concept of time travel has been established in the MCU, anyone who has access to Pym Particles and the Quantum Tunnel can go back in time for varying reasons. Granted that it wouldn't be easy to stage another Time Heist (even the Avengers were met with a couple of hurdles), it's not an impossible feat to accomplish — especially if one is particularly motivated to bring Thanos back.

For now, there's no concrete plans for Thanos in the MCU; however, that doesn't mean that it won't change moving forward. Admittedly, it seems like a waste not using the villain again considering that they nailed his character design with Brolin brilliantly bringing him to life. As fans know, the franchise thrives on its interconnectivity, so it's still a big possibility for the Mad Titan to factor in any upcoming narratives.

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