Thanos ( Josh Brolin ) is dead , but he can still return in theMCU ’s Phase 4 . Marvel Studios is presently on a conversion period now that the Infinity Saga is complete ,   which means the franchise is limit up a new overarching narration that will also in the end have a completion down the road . Part   of this rebuilding period is introducing fresh key thespian and intertwining their tarradiddle with the surviving heroes .   As   fan eagerly expect   to see who the MCU ’s novel full-grown defective guy is , there ’s still a possibility that the previous one — the Mad Titan , himself , Thanos — will somehow make his room back into the cutting edge of the universe .

Marvel Studios had been bug the arrival of Thanos as too soon as Kenneth Branagh’sThor . Since then , he appear in several succeeding film via cameos , but it was n’t untilAvengers : Infinity Warthat   he was formally introduced . Thanos successfully accomplished his mission of wiping out one-half of life in the universe in the hopes of achieving proportion , dealing the Avengers ' their first material defeat . Five long time after , however , Earth ’s Mightiest Heroes re - assembled to bring back all those who perished and afterward take down Thanos once and for all inAvengers : Endgame . The villain stand the same fate as his victims did with Tony Stark / Iron Man ( Robert Downey Jr. ) wielding the major power of all six stones to snap the Mad Titan and his minions out of existence .

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Spider-Man in the MCU and Jean Grey in Marvel Comics

Now , the primary MCU timeline exist without the threat of Thanos haunting it . However , between various storytelling formatting and the governance of the multiverse , there ’s a string of way Marvel Studios can bring back the purple alien into the dealership if they want to .

The Eternals Can Explore Thanos' Backstory

Due to meter restraint , Avengers : Infinity Warwasn’t able-bodied to fullydelve late into Thanos ' history . This is despite the fact that much of the picture ’s screen time was devoted to the baddie with the remainder separate to the continue massive cast . spectator determine of his taradiddle in fragments as he recalled some of its most important moments — first to Gamora ( Zoe Saldana ) , as they spill the beans about him kidnapping her from her home planet , and secondly to Doctor Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) when he justified his motivations for genocide . retaliator : Endgamedidn’t really focus any longer on him , so there was no more chance to further explore his backstory . That all can change in Chloe Zhao’sEternals .

The Phase 4 fill will introduce MCU ’s newest group of heroes , Eternals — a   group of   of super - powered beings created by the Celestials who are essentially immortals . It boasts as a star - stud mould including   Angelina Jolie as Thena , Madden as Ikaris , Kumail Nanjianias Kingo , Lauren Ridloff as Makkari , Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos , Salma Hayek as Ajak , Lia McHugh as Sprite , Don Lee as Gilgamesh , Gemma Chan as Sersi ,   Barry Keoghan as Druig , andKit Harington as Black Knight . While it ’s primarily put after the result ofEndgame , Eternals’story will   span thousands of old age , think that it might also roleplay as a prequel to the MCU .

So how might Thanos factor intoEternals ? InInfinity War , fans take that Marvel Studios seems to be sticking to the graphic symbol ’s comic book of account lineage being the son of A’lars — a mo reveal by Red Skull when her travel to Vormir with Gamora . Meanwhile , unused conception art for the same film   establish the younger and slimmerMad Titan with his Eternals family . Thanos perceptibly looks unlike than the rest becausehe is a Deviant offspring . If A’lars ' taradiddle somehow factors inEternals , it would make the moviethe thoroughgoing boulevard to further con about Thanos ' upbringingbefore he became the unpitying villain he ’s mostly known to be .

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man upset and determined in No Way Home

Thanos Could Appear In The MCU’s Multiverse

Avengers : Endgamedabbled a bit with the concept of a multiverse follow the Time Heist , and whileSpider - Man : Far From Homeused it as a red herring , that does n’t mean that the MCU   wo n’t be   explore alternating reality in the future . The universe ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessin itself is validation of that . While secret plan specifics for the sequel are still short at the instant , its claim alone hint at what fans can expect from it . The multiverse could also factor in Disney+ shows likeWandaVisionandLokisince they ’re confirmed to connect to the Benedict Cumberbatch - lead movie .

Related : Thanos ' Defeat Leaves The Door Open For Bigger MCU Villains

With the multiverse becoming more big in the MCU , Marvel Studios can employ the construct   in a spate of different ways . Thanos   destroyed the Infinity Stones inEndgame , and given that   the stones are   constitutional   for safeguarding realness , thismay have kickstarted the Multiverse of Madness , effectively connect   Thanos to Strange ’s upcoming mission . Meanwhile ,   sinceLokiwill feature a pre - redeemed version of the lineament who had just connive with Thanos to take over Earth in the Battle of New York , it ’s possible thathe would set about to reach out to the Mad Titan for help . This would be a cracking way to integrate Thanos in the undertaking , perhaps to show viewer what their dynamic was like while they were still in cahoots with each other .

Iron Man looking inside Sokovia in Avengers Age of Ultron

Arguably the most interesting   possible action , however , isThanos inWandaVision . As Scarlet Witchtold him inEndgame , he take up away everything from her when he ruthlessly killed Vision in front of her inInfinity War . If the situation comedy - inspired serial features Wanda   losing her psyche , lead in her   belong through various realism , it will be challenging to see her have the chance to encounter and once again confront Thanos for all of his trespasses against her .

Could Thanos Return From The Dead In Phase 4?

Aside from the previously mentioned ways that Thanos can come along in MCU Phase 4,the Mad Titan can also be resurrect in the main cosmos . To be percipient , this would be the 2014 version of the role who hijacked the Avengers ' HQ , and not the 2023 iteration of the graphic symbol . After the tragic ending ofAvengers : Infinity War , the surviving hoagie thought there was no other path to revoke the effects of the Decimation , but that all changed when Scott Lang / Ant - Man ( Paul Rudd ) upraise the approximation of the Time Heist inAvengers : Endgame . With the Infinity Stones no longer useable in their timeline , they had to journey to unlike point in MCU ’s history to pile up all six primary crystals that they can employ to get back all those who perished .   Like howSmart Hulk ’s ( Mark Ruffalo)snap brought back all those who flex to dust inInfinity Warin its subsequence , the same can be done for Thanos .

Thanos ' ( and his minions ' ) fate   inEndgameisn’t unlike Spider - Man ( Tom Holland ) , Scarlet Witch , Black Panther ’s ( Chadwick Boseman ) andhalf of the astronomic universe inInfinity War . Now that the construct of fourth dimension travel has been established in the MCU , anyone who has access to Pym Particles and the Quantum Tunnel can go back in time for varying reasons . cede that it would n’t be easy to stage another Time Heist ( even the Avengers were met with a yoke of vault ) , it ’s not an out of the question exploit to accomplish — especially if one is peculiarly motivated to bring Thanos back .

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For now , there ’s no concrete design for Thanos in theMCU ;   however , that does n’t mean that it wo n’t vary move forward . true , it seems like a waste not using the baddie again considering that they nailed his character plan with Brolin brilliantly contribute him to life .   As fan know , the franchise thrives on its interconnectivity , so it ’s still a big possibility for the Mad Titan to factor in in any upcoming narrative .

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