Josh Brolin is THANOS!

The biggest d’ast news to come out of Marvel today is the revelation that Josh Brolin will be playing THANOS!  That’s right, the Goonies/No Country for Old Men/Old Boy actor has been tapped by Marvel to portray the Mad Titan in Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as any future appearances.  Seeing as how most of the special effects for Guardians have probably been finished by now, it’s a safe bet that Brolin will only be doing voice-over work in his first appearance.

Thanos, as you may know, is one of Marvel’s most infamous villains, with ties to both the Cosmic Cube and the Infinity Gems (which have been popping up in Marvel films since the first Thor movie).  On top of that he made a minor appearance at the end of Marvel’s Avengers in a non-speaking role played by Damion Poitier.  In the comics, Thanos has been around for decades, posing a cosmic level threat to Marvel heroes.  He is one of the Eternals, a race of god-like superpowered beings that live on Saturn’s moon Titan.  Even though he was raised as an Eternal, Thanos eventually abandoned his family in order to court the personification of Death.  As a tribute to his love, he ended up bombarding Titan, wiping out almost all the remaining Eternals.  Over the years Thanos has fought against the Avengers, Nova, and of course, the Guardians of the Galaxy.

In fact the Guardians have some pretty significant ties to the Mad Titan.  Drax’s original human body was killed by Thanos, which led to his rebirth as the Destroyer, a being who’s sole purpose for existence is the death of Thanos (SPOILER ALERT:  He’s actually managed to kill him a couple of times).  Gamora, the deadliest woman in the galaxy also has close ties to Thanos.  So close in fact that she’s his adopted daughter.  For a long time she acted as his personal assassin, until she saw just how evil he was and swore to end his madness.  And finally there’s Peter Quill, someone who has spent a LOT of time with Thanos and who (SPOILERS!!) may or may not be responsible for his escape from the cancerverse.

So while Josh Brolin’s Thanos may not see a lot of screen time in Guardians of the Galaxy, we can expect to see a lot more of him in the lead up to Avengers 3 where he will probably be the main villain.  We’re still waiting on Marvel to confirm the casting news, but Latino Review, the site that broke the story, has been pretty reliable with their Marvel rumors lately, and Variety is also confirming the news.

So what are your thoughts on Josh Brolin being cast as Thanos?  Has Marvel knocked it out of the park again, or do you think there’s another actor that could do a better job?  Let us know in the comments below!