Avengers 2 director and writer Joss Whedon explains why the human killing robot named Ultron and not cosmic bad boy Thanos will be the villain in the sequel of the Marvel Universe franchise.
The post credits Easter egg has become a staple of the Marvel Universe films released over the last few years with random characters and teasers for future projects being placed strategically after the movie ends to set up the next big event.
The Avengers may have contained the biggest reveal of all after Loki failed to conquer Earth, even with his super weapon from outer space and the man that crafted that staff who was hell bent ruling over the planet was none other than cosmic baddie Thanos.
The Mad Titan has been one of the biggest adversaries of the Marvel Universe over the last two decades in the comic books, and his involvement in The Avengers film franchise was a game changer for villains that would be showcased.
It came as a surprise then at San Diego Comic Con when Avengers director and writer Joss Whedon took to the stage and announced the sequel for the film that would begin shooting in 2014 for a 2015 release date. The new movie would be called The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron—a reference to the human killing, sentient robot created by Dr. Hank Pym otherwise known as Ant-Man.
Ultron will be the key villain in the upcoming Avengers sequel, but that then begs the question—what happened to Thanos?
“We have to stay grounded, it’s part of what makes the Marvel Universe click, their relationship to the real world,” Whedon explained in a recent interview with Total Film. “It’s science fiction, and Thanos is not out of the mix, but Thanos was never meant to be the next villain. He’s always been the overlord of villainy and darkness.”
There you have it—Thanos is still part of the grand plan, but just not in the upcoming Avenges sequel.
Rumors have persisted, however, that Thanos will take part in the upcoming intergalactic Marvel film set in space titled Guardians of the Galaxy. With all of the Marvel film franchises tying back to The Avengers, it’s hard to imagine if Thanos appears that he won’t be working towards a larger agenda that would likely take place in a later movie.
If that happens, expect Thanos to rain hell down on the Earth when The Avengers 3 goes into production in a few years.
It’s been well documented that Robert Downey Jr. has signed on for two more Avengers sequels to play billionaire, genius, philanthropist Tony Stark aka Iron Man, so the series will have at least one more movie after Age of Ultron wraps.
