The 2014 version of Thanos in Avengers: Endgame originally had a more epic introduction planned for him. In the lead up to Avengers: Endgame, audiences were curious to find out how the Avengers would ultimately defeat Thanos after Avengers: Infinity War. Theories of time travel proved to be correct, but no one predicted that this would be done after Thanos died just 15 minutes into the movie.
The death of Thanos was the catalyst for a five-year time jump that most of Avengers: Endgame takes place after. It also allowed the remaining heroes to rightfully take center stage. But, Thanos did return to the movie’s plot through time travel, as a version of him from 2014 learned what the Avengers were trying to accomplish. This version - called Warrior Thanos internally at Marvel - repeatedly showed how big of a threat he was, but this could’ve become even more clear with an alternate introduction.
In The Art of Avengers: Endgame, a few pieces of concept art showed designs for aliens that were planned to be featured in a big battle sequence with 2014 Thanos. Concept Illustrator Josh Nizzi revealed this idea, which would’ve acted as Endgame’s introduction to this version of Thanos. Here’s what he said, followed by the designs of the aliens.
“Marvel wanted to show how powerful Thanos was even before he had any of the Stones. There was going to be a huge battle sequence where he fights a military alien race. The aliens actually did show up in the film, but only for a few seconds before being killed by Gamora and Nebula.”
Instead of this introduction, Thanos’ conquest and devastating ability in combat is only teased in his first appearance in Avengers: Endgame. The movie shows him beamed up to his hip with blood splatter all over his armor and double-bladed sword. He wipes off most of the blood upon his arrival, leaving fans only to wonder what he had accomplished. But, this reveals that directors Anthony and Joe Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely planned on showing it at one point during development.
With this potential battle, it is apparent that Avengers: Endgame nearly featured much more of 2014 Thanos in action. This new sequence would’ve kicked off his role, but they also shot another version of Black Widow’s death where Thanos and his army attacked Vormir. They even considered having 2014 Thanos kill the Avengers in his timeline to taunt the main heroes, so it is possible that attack could’ve been included as well.
As for the alien designs themselves, there is one aspect of them potentially worth pointing out. The second aliens have a similar look and build as Miek does. We don’t know if this is Miek’s alien race or not, but Miek has proven to be a skilled warrior, so him coming from a military background could make sense. If so, this could potentially be Thanos conquering Miek’s planet, making him appear in the final battle in Avengers: Endgame all the more fulfilling.
MORE: Avengers: Endgame Deleted Scene Would Confirm “Thanos Is Alive” Theory
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