Deleted Avengers: Infinity War concept art showcased Thanos' ancestors from Titan. The Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin), served as the big bad of the MCU's Infinity Saga, and his backstory was further expanded in Infinity War during his quest to retrieve the six Infinity Stones, revealing major aspects such as the identity of his father (A'lars) and his home planet, Titan. At one point in the Phase 3 movie, a preview of what Titan looked like during its thriving years was shown, but it didn't further expand on its citizens.
Marvel Studios concept artist Jerad S. Marantz shared (via Instagram) concept art of the citizens of Titan for Avengers: Infinity War, revealing a special look at some of Thanos' ancestors.
The sketches showed some of the humanoid beings living on Titan wearing personal garb that exhibits royalty and elegance.
Marantz's design also showed some of what appear to be warriors from Titan, who are bulkier and muscular in build.
Another artwork features individuals who appear to be part of Titan's royal family, as evidenced by the elegant garb and distinguished headwear that evoke royalty.
More images showed a hooded humanoid who appears to fall under the category of being an elder from Titan.
Alongside the post, Marantz talked about the "fun assignment" of designing the citizens of Titan:
"This was a fun assignment! While working on Infinity War and Endgame, I got this quick assignment to design the citizens of Titan, Thanos’s home world. I had to really cover the gambit of people and classes. I decided to do these quick sketches. I’ve never really done this before, but I wanted to get the ball rolling. I assumed I would be modeling out some of these designs and taking them a lot further, but it ended up being enough. Now I love designing this way and do it whenever I can. I think because I’m so detail-oriented, it’s great to have a technique that just covers the broad strokes. It’s very important that, as a concept artist, you can fully resolve a concept, but if you can’t sketch, you really can’t do anything worthwhile."
This is the first detailed look at Thanos' Titan ancestors outside of one piece of official concept art from artist Ryan Lang, which depicted a young Thanos next to three apparent family members:
Presenting concept art of Thanos' ancestors gave longtime MCU fans a chance to see a semblance of the Mad Titan's past before his rise to power in Avengers: Infinity War. It served as a reminder of how an advanced nation like Titan prospered before eventually succumbing to overpopulation.
Thanos first made his MCU debut at the end of 2012's The Avengers, where it was confirmed that he was the one behind the Chitauri Invasion in New York. After briefly appearing in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos enacted his plan to retrieve the Infinity Stones to restore balance to the universe in Avengers: Infinity War before being defeated by the combined effort of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Endgame.
Will Thanos Ever Return in the MCU?
Although Thanos made his return as different Variants in Marvel Animation's What If...? series, the character has yet to make a proper comeback in live-action, leaving fans to wonder if the Mad Titan is gone for good.
Still, the fact that Eternals' post-credits scene introduced Thanos' brother, Starfox (Harry Styles), means that there is still some story to tell about Josh Brolin's character.
In a previous interview with Collider, Josh Brolin explained that bringing back Thanos "has to be right," indicating that a proper and justified story would be what it takes for the Mad Titan to return:
"I’m not kidding — There’s a thing with playing Thanos. It’s like, ‘Oh, they’re gonna bring Thanos back.’ It’s like Sicario; it has to be right. It’s like Ryan Reynolds and I talking about Taylor Swift, and we should be talking about Deadpool 4. But we go back and forth. Again, it’s what in his mind fits, what in my mind fits. Thanos has to fit if you’re going to bring him back. I would do anything that the Russos wanted me to do."
The most plausible way for Thanos to return is through a story set in the past, expanding the lore of the character and Titan in more ways than one. This could potentially happen in a possible sequel to Eternals. Doing this would allow Marvel to show the dynamic between Starfox and Thanos, answering various questions about his past while showing Titan's downfall from the brothers' perspective.
