Joe Russo Discusses The Complexities Of Thanos And The Narrative of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Joe Russo has provided further insight into how the complexities of Thanos as a character help drive the narrative of Avengers: Infinity War and make the heroes more interesting. Read below for more!
With Avengers: Infinity War on the horizon, we've been getting a lot of insight into how the characters, especially Thanos, are going to being handled in the film. In a recent interview with Fandango, co-director Joe Russo stressed the importance of having a villain with a lot of depth and complexity to complement the heroes and drive the overall narrative. Infinity War has previously been described as a heist film with Thanos on a mission to collect all six Infinity stones. However, a character of his magnitude needs more than just an infatuation with the Infinity stones to make him a compelling villain. When asked about what people will find surprising in the film, Joe touched on their approach as well as the villains of their previous Marvel films:
We love villains with depth and it was really, you know, in 'Winter Soldier' what motivated us to work on that film is the fact that Captain America was unwittingly going up against his best friend. As a villain it’s an incredibly rich backstory and potential for real drama there, so we love complicated villains. 'Civil War', Zemo is a victim, he was victimized by the Avengers. His family was killed and he blames them for it, so we always try to find the human side of a villain because in every villain's story, they're the hero in their own story. Their point of view is that they're right. And I find that when I watch films where the villain is more complex I find that it makes the heroes more complex and ultimately in the story more interesting. I think people will find [Thanos] at turns horrifying and at turns empathetic.
That last part is the most exciting as it indicates that Thanos will at times terrify the audience while at other times, win their sympathy. This description may remind some of our last Marvel villain, Killmonger from Black Panther. Joe was actually asked if his description of Thanos was reminiscent of Killmonger and he said certainly. It is clear that the Russos have made sure that Thanos is a multilayered villain with a lot of depth and complexities. Additionally, when asked who the film belonged to and whether it had a hero telling the narrative, Joe had the following to say:
Its point of view is Thanos' point of view, so it's a villain driving the narrative. But there are, that being said, it is at times multi-perspective and there are very important roles for a couple of the heroes. I think you could argue, too, that a lot of the film is told from the point of view of Gamora, and I think she has a really fascinating arc in the movie.
Perhaps it is not too surprising that the Mad Titan's favorite daughter serves as the opposite of Thanos narratively in Infinity War, and it will be very exciting to see the Russos flesh out Thanos' relationship with Gamora. As we saw in the trailer, Gamora takes Thanos' hand at a young age when the Titan's come to her home planet. This aspect of Thanos, having a relationship with his adopted daughter Gamora is likely one aspect that would give the villain some empathy. Are you looking forward to the Russos' take on Thanos? Be sure to sound off in the comments below your thoughts on what Joe Russo has said here! Snap!