After cameoing at the end of The Avengers, getting slightly more screen time in Guardians of the Galaxy, and then cameoing once more in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thanos finally came to the forefront in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The latter movie saw two different versions of the Mad Titan dying, but rumors have nevertheless persisted that we’ll see Josh Brolin play him again. Now there’s yet another rumor about Thanos coming back for an upcoming Marvel movie, and if this is true, I hope it means one of the character’s greatest showdowns from the comics is being adapted for the MCU.
Scooper Daniel Richtman (via ComicBookMovie) claims that Brolin is set to reprise Thanos in Avengers: Secret Wars, the final movie in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. This would mark the actor’s sixth time portraying the character, because in addition to all of the aforementioned movies except The Avengers, he also voiced alternate versions of Thanos in the Disney+ subscription-exclusive animated series What If… ? Taking part in Secret Wars would also reunite him with directors Joe and Anthony Russo, as well as Robert Downey Jr., whose version of Tony Stark clashed with Thanos in Infinity War and Endgame.
Of course, Downey has returned to the MCU to play Doctor Doom, the main antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It still hasn’t been clarified if his take on Doom will be a Tony Stark variant or not, but just like what was originally intended for Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, Downey’s Doom will set out to conquer the multiverse. Assuming this newest rumor is accurate, that will bring him into conflict with Thanos, and just like how Tony Stark snapped away that alternate timeline Thanos in Endgame, I think we’ll see Doom destroy whatever version of the Mad Titan surfaces in Secret Wars.
Specifically, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’re going to see Doom dispose of Thanos in the same kind of manner as he did in the 2015 Secret Wars comic book event. There, Victor von Doom stole the power of the Beyonders, formed a new Battleworld from the remnants of the multiverse, and ruled over it as God Emperor Doom. Thanos attempted to kill Doom as part of an insurrection, and, well, he got his skeleton torn out instead, as seen above.
Given that this is the Multiverse Saga, I’m assuming that if Thanos does indeed appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, he will be a variant from another reality rather than either of the versions of Endgame resurrected. Then there’s the question of how prominent Josh Brolin’s role in the movie would be, but again, I don’t expect him to stick around long. Not only does Marvel Studios surely not want to overshadow Doctor Doom with the MCU’s last big bad, it’s unlikely Downey’s Doom will want to partner with anyone, and Thanos would surely desire any power that Doom has obtained. Maybe we won’t see anything as graphic as Thanos’ skeleton being removed from his body, but I’m confident that he won’t make it out of Secret Wars alive.
We’ll know for sure about Thanos’ involvement once Avengers: Secret Wars is released on December 17, 2027. Before that, though, we need to see Doctor Doom machinations unfold in Avengers: Doomsday, which will happen in theaters on December 18.
