It's been a slow, steady march to the moment when the Marvel Cinematic Universe's biggest big bad, Thanos, picks up the mantle as the villain at the forefront of the Avengers universe. He finally picked up his infamous gauntlet at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, but there's still a ways to go until he throws it back down in Avengers: Infinity War.

Josh Brolin, who plays the iconic comic villain,  is currently at the Toronto International Film Festival to promote Sicario -- in which he co-stars alongside fellow MCU resident Benicio Del Toro and fan-favorite for Captain Marvel, Emily Blunt -- so when Steve sat down to talk with him about that film, he also took the opportunity to ask about Thanos. While Brolin naturally didn't have a lot to say about what's coming up for him in Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 and Part 2, he shared his thoughts on joining such a massive franchise and the moment he realized how much his character means to the fans. Watch what he had to say in the video and read below for his comments.


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Brolin had nothing but good things to say about becoming the baddest bad guy in the MCU, and explained why it was an easy decision for him to sign on to the massive franchise.

It’s great. It’s actually great and it’s one of those decisions where when I made the decision, it wasn’t a difficult decision. Because Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito are so smart at using Benny [Del Toro] for Guardians of the Galaxy as The Collector, and I thought it was so good. That kind of thing. It’s like, “Yes, I absolutely want to do this.”

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Image via Marvel

However, Brolin admitted that the role, which requires a lot of green screen and makeup effects, was a "very different type of acting" that had him nervous at first.

It’s the type of character where it’s him agains all of the Avengers, which is fantastic in itself, but doing it is a very different type of acting. So I was a little nervous in the beginning.

Finally Brolin talked about the responsibility that comes along with playing such a well-known character, and the moment he realized exactly how much Thanos means to Marvel fans.


It wasn’t until I was doing this movie [Sicario], I walked into a comic book store in Albuquerque and I saw a guy who recognized me as Thanos, who basically had a minor stroke, and I was afraid because his reaction was so severe. More severe than I’ve ever seen any reaction to any actor or somebody recognizable, and I realized Thanos was his life. Thanos was his savior. The whole thing was his — it’s like he woke up in the morning swallowed and ate these words in these comic books. So it means a lot. I get the responsibility and I take it with great care.

It'll be a few more years until we get to see Brolin's Thanos fully unleashed, but if Marvel sticks to their post-credits format, we can look forward to a few more appearances before Avengers: Infinity War -- Part 1 arrives in theaters on May 4, 2018.

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Image via Marvel Studios