Talking to
/Film, Kevin Feige has revealed that it was in fact Joss Whedon's idea to introduce Thanos in the mid-credits scene of
Marvel's The Avengers. Unfortunately, neither would reveal exactly where he'll turn up next, but Feige had this to say about non-fans possibly not recognising a character who is best know to comic book readers.
"All of our tags are sort of like that. If you don’t know who Nick Fury is, that’s just Sam Jackson in an eye mask at the end and somebody is going to tell you who it is. That really spread. So I think Thanos will be the same way. During the premiere last night there were two guys behind me, I don’t know who they were, when Thanos turned around they went “Oh my God, it’s that… What’s his name? I can’t remember his name, but he’s that… Oh my God.” So you know clearly in the way it’s presented, it’s somebody important, so “ask somebody.” But don’t spoil that"
Regardless of the
Thor 2 suggestions (Thanos's lackey did say that there would be repercussions for Loki if he failed) it sounds as if Whedon is a big enough fan that he might just choose to use him again in future should he return for
The Avengers 2. If nothing else, he's certainly a big fan of the Jim Starlin creation.
"He for me is the most powerful and fascinating Marvel villain. He’s the great grand daddy of the badasses and he’s in love with death and I just think that’s so cute. For me, the greatest Avengers was THE AVENGERS annual that Jim Starlin did followed by THE THING 2 in 1 that contained the death of Adam Warlock. Those were some of the most important texts and I think underrated milestones in Marvel history and Thanos is all over that, so somebody had to be in control and had to be behind Loki’s work and I was like “It’s got to be Thanos.” And they said “Okay” and I’m like “Oh my God!”"
The site also mentions that Feige hinted that we may not see their plans for Thanos come to fruition until the planned
Guardians of the Galaxy film. While Joss Whedon is clearly a BIG fan of the villain, the character does seem to be the perfect choice in helping Marvel Studios expand their cosmic universe. Stay tuned for more details and be sure to click on the link below to read the interview in full.
STARRING:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Ramanoff/Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
RELEASE DATE: Out Now!