Earth is about to get a little more Super!
So who is excited about Avengers: Infinity War? The better question is “who *isn’t* excited,” followed by an astounded look in their general direction when they murmur “meh.” The official first trailer – released in November 2017 - has garnered almost 150 million views as of me writing this, and the second trailer that aired during the 2018 Super Bowl has roughly 6.5 million views.
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably absolutely anxious for April 27, 2018 to get here. You might have even let out a squeak or two when they moved the release date up a week. My heart is, quite literally, starting to race as I think of how terrifying Thanos is bound to be.
So, what about the good guys? According to the cast list, we’re going to see at least 20 heroes suit up for the first part of the Infinity War. Of course, we’ll see the First Avenger, Captain America, played by Chris Evans, and his pals Iron Man (Robert Downey Junior), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). We couldn’t have a fight to save the universe without the original crew, after all.
Joining them will be the Scarlet Witch and Vision, played by Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany, respectively. Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan, and Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, won’t be seen leaving Cap behind either. Also from Earth, Doctor Strange and Wong (Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong), Spiderman (Tom Holland), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and the newly christened Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman).
Plenty of off-worlders (or at least those who spent most of their lives off-world) are coming to join the fray as well. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and of course Thanos’ own daughters, Nebula and Gamora (Karen Gillan and Zoe Saldana).
Which brings us to the bad guys. Well, the bad guy. There are certainly theories abounding that he will not be the only villain to grace Earth with their presence. However, Thanos is the ultimate evil of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As a twisted man from the species of Eternals, a cousin-species to humans, his only true quest is for power. Josh Brolin has and will continue to bring his might to life throughout the series.
Josh Brolin himself is a strong actor, who doesn’t often play a very nice guy. He got his start in the Goonies, where he plays a good looking but socially uncool guy who can't get his driver's license, eventually landing the “hot chick” and helping his brother and his friends get out of trouble. Decades later he portrays Jonah Hex, a DC-verse western bounty hunter that, despite his surly and mean disposition, does his best to protect the innocent. Later still, in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, he plays a crook-turned-good and sober, trying to overcome a broken heart as well as his own past. In the Grindhouse movie, Planet Terror, he does a terrifyingly good job of playing an abusive husband and doctor. Eventually he zombifies and attempts to kill his widow.
While Josh Brolin doesn’t often play a true villain (other than the zombie-doctor), being instead more prone to portraying an antihero, his Thanos stirs many disturbing feelings deep within, even though we have only seen him for a few minutes at a time thus far. One thing is certain, Avengers: Infinity War is going to be an epic standoff to rival all of the battles that have come before!
