‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Director Explains Thanos’ Role In Heist Film

Joe and Anthony Russo are known for subverting genre expectations and that will hold true when they insert the Mad Titan Thanos into the heist film that is Avengers: Infinity War.

Fans may believe that the epic showdown between an alien army led by one of the powerful beings in the known universe and practically every superhero who lives in that universe would be some strange subject matter for a heist movie.

Speaking to CNET, Anthony Russo explains how Thanos fits in.

“With Infinity War, the biggest new element to the movie is Thanos and the fact that he’s entering the storytelling in a very bold, strong way, to the degree that he’s almost one of the leads,” he says. “We’ve shaped an interesting narrative around him that in some ways leans heavily on a heist film in the fact that he’s going after the infinity stones in a much bolder, successful way than he has in the past. The entire movie has that energy of the bad guy being one step ahead of the heroes. We looked at a lot of movies that had that heist-style energy to them, [and] that brought some inspiration.”

In a previous interview with ComicBook.com, Joe Russo said that they’re looking to turn Thanos into Marvel’s own Darth Vader.

“The stakes are incredibly high,” he said. “I wanted to turn Thanos into Darth Vader for a new generation. He’s an incredibly intense character. Sociopathic. He takes no prisoners. I think the audience needs to be prepared when they go see these movies.”

Avengers: Infinity War currently has a 4.34 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating, making it the most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com Users. Let us know how excite3d you are about Avengers: Infinity War by giving the movie your own personal ComicBook.com User Rating below.

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on May 4, 2018.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Thor: Ragnarok on November 2, 2017. Black Panther on February 16, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, 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.