Avengers: Infinity War ended with Thanos emerging triumphant over Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but the cost of using the Infinity Gauntlet took its toll on the Mad Titan. Using it a second time to destroy the Infinity Stones only damaged the villain to a greater degree, and when The Avengers caught up with him in Avengers: Endgame, it seemed Thanos was already close to death.
While Thanos was badly scarred, what we saw was nowhere near as gruesome as this concept art shared on ArtStation by Chris Nichols. "Back in 2018 we were trying to figure out how much damage the Thanos 'snap' had caused to the side of his face," he recalls. "The Russos want us to explore an extreme version which obviously didn't make it into the film but really enjoyed making this."
As you can see, Thanos has been left looking like Two-Face in The Dark Knight, and while it's a visual that's perhaps a little too gory for the MCU, we can't help but be impressed by this design.
Comparisons to Christopher Nolan's 2018 movie are probably a big part of why Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers ultimately went in a different direction. As for Thanos, it's unclear whether he has a future in the MCU after dying (twice), but Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are a good indication that the Mad Titan's impact will continue to be felt moving forward.
Check out this newly revealed Avengers: Endgame concept art below: