Infinity War Creator Reveals 45-Minute Thanos Sequence That Got Removed
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Mad Titan Thanos squared off in an epic battle in Avengers: Infinity War, the third entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Avengers series. The movie depicted Thanos’ journey to acquire all six Infinity Stones, but an update from Jim Starlin, the character’s creator, revealed that a crucial scene involving Thanos was omitted from the finished movie. In the post-credits scene of 2012’s The Avengers, Jim Starlin’s 1973 creation Thanos made his film debut. Josh Brolin played the role, and he was the main antagonist in both Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War. And now the creator revealed a 45-minute Thanos sequence.
With the ability to instantly exterminate half of all life in the universe, Thanos’ goal in Infinity War was to acquire all six Infinity Stones. The Avengers, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk, tried to stop him. At the start of Infinity War, Thanos had already obtained the Power Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones. It was later revealed that he had gone through the full force of the Nova Corps on Xandar to get the stone. However, the film didn’t show the epic clash between Thanos and the Nova Corps for the Power Stone.
Speaking with Near Mint Condition, Jim Starlin talked about the scrapped sequence involving Thanos’ quest for the Power Stone. Starlin revealed that he “had to keep [his] mouth shut” for a year and a half since Infinity War screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely told him everything that would happen in the two Avengers films. One month before Infinity War premiered in theaters, Starlin received an email from director Joe Russo saying that the 45-minute sequence of Thanos “getting the first [Infinity Stone]” was cut out at the beginning of the movie.
The Marvel Comics scribe also pointed out that the sequence was cut because the studio didn’t want to “spend the money on the [visual] effects,” and they didn’t want it to be as long as Avengers: Endgame. While it is unknown if Starlin is exaggerating with his confirmation that the sequence is 45 minutes long, it is possible that the scene that was shot was closer to 15 to 20 minutes, with the 45 minutes serving as the original plan for the whole introduction. When Near Mint Condition noted that he would love a director’s cut of Infinity War, Starlin agreed, saying that Marvel planned on including the lengthy sequence “for the DVD” but it didn’t happen.
It’s unfortunate that Marvel Studios decided to cut the sequence involving Thanos’ quest to obtain the Power Stone from the Nova Corps on Xandar. While the Avengers threequel did reference the Mad Titan’s destruction of the planet through dialogue, it would’ve been exciting to witness the full might of the MCU villain right at the beginning of the movie. The cut sequence involving Thanos and the Nova Corps raises several questions. How did Thanos obtain the Power Stone? Was the Nova Corps able to put up a good fight? How did Thanos decimate the planet? Fans may never know the answers to these questions, but it’s possible that the scene exists somewhere in the archives.
Considering that a Nova project is rumored to be in development, there is a good chance that the said sequence will likely be included in the character’s introduction to further expand the fall of the Nova Corps and Xandar and Thanos’ domination over the planet. On the flip side, if Marvel decides to re-release Infinity War on the big screen at some point or an extended edition is in the cards, then this cut sequence could easily be included to give diehard fans another worthwhile experience.
What are your thoughts regarding the 45-minute Thanos sequence that got removed? Let us know in the comments.
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