Thanos’ appearances in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame catapulted him into the pop culture stratosphere. One NBA star decided to take his love for the character to new heights this season. During a tour of his property with Graham Bensinger, new Los Angeles Laker Dwight Howard decided to focus on his purple Rolls-Royce. The center purchased the car as a reminder of what he learned from the Avengers villain.
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The Mad Titan was willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals. Whether that meant sacrificing his beloved daughter Gamora, or even meeting his end at the business end of Thor’s axe, he was willing to do anything to achieve the mission. Howard would go on to really explain the significance of Josh Brolin’s performance to him and how it put his own professional journey into perspective.
The former Defensive Player of the Year explained, “I got this purple car because of Thanos from The Avengers. He’s my favorite character. He was able to understand that in order for him to complete his mission, he had to get rid of his emotions. That’s the hardest thing we all face.”
People online were quick to question whether the former All-Star completely missed the point of the movies. The motivation for purchasing the movies is a bit strange, to say the least, but hey there was a whole Subreddit dedicated to defending the villain from those sorts of slights before. So, it’s not like nobody likes Thanos and in fact, a ton of people love the depiction.
Director Anthony Russo talked about this very idea on Endgame‘s commentary track with the rest of the creative team. He added that the scene in which the past version of the Mad Titan witnesses his own demise lets the audience know a lot about the character. Thanos’ faint smirk upon seeing his future counterpart tell the Avengers he is “inevitable,” is Thanos’ “vindication.”
“Just confirmation that he is on the right track,” Christopher Markus would add.
Director Joe Russo also jumped into the conversation around the scene as well, “Well I think that’s always what Thanos supporters online say, what is exciting to them about him as a character is his monastic dedication to his mission. And he is willing to die for the mission.”
Fans like Howard were all very drawn into the charisma on display during Avengers: Infinity War. Some have even argued that the first film is really about Thanos and the Avengers are merely supporting characters in a movie with their name on it. The villain did have the second most screentime in the two films, only being bested by Iron Man poetically enough. The MCU may have seen the last of the Mad Titan for now, but he certainly won’t be forgotten.
Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in spring 2021, Loki in spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If? In summer 2021, Hawkeye in fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021. Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and Ms. Marvel series have also been announced.
