Josh Brolin Shared A Rumor That Thanos May Return - Here's How It Could Happen

Josh Brolin has a feeling that Thanos might return in a future Marvel Cinematic Universe — we just don't know what it is yet. Brolin first appeared as the Mad Titan in 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy," setting up his arc as the franchise's biggest bad. With 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War," audiences finally got to see Brolin fully step into the character's shoes, turning him into one of the most terrifying villains to date. In 2019's "Endgame," Brolin seemingly wrapped up his tenure as the purple alien as Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) whisked him and his goons away with the Infinity Gauntlet. 

That seemed to be the end of Thanos, but Brolin thinks Thanos still has some life left in him. While speaking with ComicBook.com in early February 2024, Brolin admitted that he's heard rumblings about the character's  "You know, I hear kind of like through the grapevine, that they're gonna bring him back," the actor said. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was never really done with Thanos — the character has appeared countless times in the animated series "What If...?" 

Brolin even returned to voice the character in his various animated appearances. The actor continued by pointing out how the character appears in "What If?" but how those versions are radically different than the canonical iteration. "And there's the 'What If...?' series and that's a different kind of Thanos and all that. But I don't know in the Marvel world whether they're going to bring him back."

There are a number of ways Marvel could bring back Brolin as everyone's favorite Mad Titan, which could make for some interesting MCU storylines. 

It's important to note that Josh Brolin doesn't explicitly confirm that Thanos is returning, but his word choice is certainly inspiring. "... [T]hey're gonna bring him back," the actor said, implying that the canonical version of the character could return, as opposed to another appearance in "What If...?" which features hypothetical scenarios in the MCU. When one takes a look at the upcoming Marvel release calendar, the most obvious choice for Thanos' return is "Deadpool 3." The upcoming Shawn Levy-directed picture will be the first flick in the MCU to fully fold in 20th Century Studios' roster of "X-Men" characters. 

The self-aware nature of the "Deadpool" franchise could lend itself to Brolin's return as Thanos, as the actor famously played Cable in "Deadpool 2." Having Ryan Reynolds' Merc with a Mouth openly call out the casting could be a great way to have the MCU formally acknowledge Brolin's two characters. Beyond that, rumors have suggested for quite some time that "Deadpool 3" will be riddled with cameos and that the project could feature the multiverse in some capacity. 

While plot details aren't concrete for "Deadpool 3," the inclusion of the multiverse opens up the possibility of Deadpool running into a version of Thanos. Audiences could maybe see Thanos in an alternate universe, or it's possible that the character could simply not be dead — a fan theory that has dominated since "Endgame." 

It's entirely possible that Thanos and his army of evil aliens never actually died in "Avengers: Endgame." Perhaps they were whisked away into an unknown dimension or timeline, which could potentially be visited in the future. A deleted scene from "Endgame" suggests that Thanos can't actually die (via The Independent). A scrapped scene involving The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) features the all-knowing hero laying some major truth bombs about Thanos. "If someone dies, they will always die," the Ancient One says. "Death is irreversible, but Thanos is not. Those you've lost are not dead. They've been willed out of existence, which means they can be willed back. But it doesn't come cheap." 

This scene technically isn't canonical because it was deleted, but it does open up the possibility of Thanos being brought back or resurrected in some way. Bringing the villain back would have major narrative consequences. A still-alive Thanos would mean that the Avengers failed in destroying the Mad Titan, undermining both Tony Stark's sacrifice and all of "Endgame." For that reason, it's best that Thanos' rumored return is best reserved as a cameo, as opposed to a full-fledged reprisal. 

It's also possible that Josh Brolin means that "What If...?" could feature another appearance from Thanos, which is possible as there's only a finite number of characters that the animated series could lean on. Ultimately, fans will just have to wait and see if Marvel actually pulls the trigger on a Mad Titan return.