Josh Brolin Talks Thanos In Future Marvel Films
Though Thanos only appears in a couple of scenes in Guardians of the Galaxy, his presence is ongoing throughout the entire film. Josh Brolin voices the character for the first time in the latest Marvel flick, and the actor seems to be very excited about portraying The Mad Titan. While promoting his film Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, Brolin talked extensively about his character Thanos, his relationship with Death, and more.
Brolin talked about how he had been offered roles in superhero films but always turned them down, until this opportunity came about. According to him, it was the guys making the movie (behind-the-scenes) who convinced him to take on the role.
"First and foremost, I have a really good friend who I've known for years who's the co-president of Marvel, Louis D'Esposito. I knew Louis as a first AD, and he's the one who initially called me, and then [producer] Jeremy Latcham. Then I talked to Kevin Feige, ultimately. But there's something about them that's so insular and so geeky and so real. I loved it -- because I've turned down a lot of those types of movies. Not Marvel, but I've turned down a lot of those types of movies. When they started telling me the story about them getting together in Palm Springs, nine of them flipping burgers and talking about what Thanos was going to do and going, 'What do you think?' like, 'Captain America's going to show up here!' Then, 'Oh my God, what if the Hulk came in at that point?' and all that -- I love that sh**. I love it, because those guys are absolutely saturated with that world, and they love story. Another thing that I really loved is, they said that they didn't use directors that did music videos and all that in the past. They would always look for people who had done stories. If you look at James Gunn's oeuvre, he's done even web series, but they're all stories."
He added that he didn't only accept Thanos because "Marvel's hot right now," but because he saw himself as this "thing."
"...Not that I'm ever 100-percent sure, but we had constructed this small thing, Kevin Feige and I and Robert, and going on-stage at Comic-Con. Then it became something else. Once I got on-stage, it sort of became its own improv. I knew at that point, because I saw the rivalry between Robert [Downey Jr.] and I, and I thought, 'I get this. I suddenly really get it.' So I feel like I'm more inside it than I was. It was more a display to me before that. It was more cosmetic. Now I think I'm starting to get who the guy is a little bit."
Brolin also talked about Thanos' relationship with Death and related it to his character in Sin City.
"His relationship with Death, who is actually the woman, I love that. You can take Sin City [in which Brolin plays a man obsessed with a dark-hearted woman] and pump it full of steroids, and then you have Thanos. I like that he's motivated by that -- not just motivated by destruction or death or this or that. He's motivated by a very identifiable, human trait."
Guardians is now in theaters and if for some strange reason you haven't seen it, I suggest you run to the theaters right now. It's fantastic.
