Josh Brolin Says He'd Be Open to Returning to Play Thanos in the MCU If the Idea Was Right - "I'd Do Anything That the Russos Wanted Me to Do"

Josh Brolin’s super-villain Thanos was triumphantly defeated in Avengers: Endgame, and we all closed the door on his storyline. But he has been back in the spotlight in the last week, as the series Agatha All Along revealed that Aubrey Plaza’s character Rio Vidal as actually the Marvel villain Death.

In the comics, Death is the subject of Thanos’s affections, and remembering their connection, fans wondered if we might see any of that play out in the final episodes of Agatha, or in a future MCU project.

While the show’s creator, Jac Schaeffer, has confirmed that she is not touching the Thanos story in her series, Brolin has been asked whether he would ever return to the role to explore more of his backstory. Speaking to Collider at New York Comic Con, the actor said he'd be up for it, if the story was right.

"I’m not kidding – here’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."

I feel like Thanos’s story was wrapped up just right. But it is interesting that the Russos are coming back to direct the next two Avengers films, and they could bring back a Thanos variant.

Stranger things have happened… like Robert Downey Jr. coming back to play Dr. Victor von Doom! Plus the Russos have two characters to choose from when it comes to Josh Brolin.

Now that Deadpool is part of the MCU, Brolin’s Cable from the second movie would also be fair game to add to the roster.

As always, we will just have to wait and see how it all pans out. Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on May 1, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars will follow on May 7, 2027.