'Avengers: Infinity War' Directors Reveal Why Thanos' Backstory Was Cut From Film

Avengers: Infinity War is almost in theaters, and naturally, Marvel fans are buzzing hard about what all could happen in the film, as well as what they have seen - and haven't seen - in the marketing campaign for the film. A recent interview with directors Joe and Anthony Russo has revealed something that Marvel fans may not like to hear: Thanos' backstory has been cut from the final theatrical version of the film.

In the new issue of Total Film (via Games Radar), Joe and Anthony Russo reveal that Thanos' planned backstory in the film had to be cut for time. As Anthony Russo tells it:

"We were considering showing [Thanos'] backstory, but ultimately felt it wasn't necessary for the movie." The director did try to assuage possible backlash by saying that Inifnity War is still "told from his [Thanos] point of view."

We'll have to wait and see how this editing choice reconciles with scenes from the Avengers: Infinity War trailers, which clearly depict moments form Thanos' past, such as how he came to conquer Gamora's people and take her as his "daughter." Obviously, that particular tale will probably come from Gamora's telling, not Thanos; however, a lot of fans were hoping that flashbacks to the history of Thanos and his planet, Titan, would indeed be part of the movie's storyline. While we apparently won't see that onscreen, Marvel Studio head Kevin Feige has already provided the MCU version of Thanos' origin:

"He's from a planet called Titan that's no longer inhabited because of things that he thought he could help prevent, and he was not allowed to do that. What he feared most happened, and the planet and everybody on it basically went extinct. He vowed not to let that happen again. He thinks he sees the universe going down the tubes. He thinks he sees life expanding outward unchecked. That will bring ruin, he believes, to the universe and to that life."

In that sense, Thanos is your classic 'misguided, not evil' villain, who believes he's doing something noble and altruistic, while instead trying to apply a very twisted and skewed view a life onto the universe. It should make the character interesting, and hopefully he'll be primed for a larger arc of growth in the MC, over time. We know he'll definitely be making his presence felt when Infinity War kicks off - and it will be one hell of introduction.

Black Panther is now in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Avengers: Infinity War on April 27; Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.