Who thinks Thanos is going to be saved as the main villain in Avengers 3?

[Blackman]

Originally Posted by marcvader

I think our heroes can be defeated without necessarily destroying earth. This could happen off planet or in another realm.

That's why I like the idea of Thanos taking over Asgard. Although that probably would affect Thor too much

Originally Posted by The Question

Also, there's such a think as a pyrrhic victory. The Avengers could stop him from achieving any of his goals, but he could hurt them so badly in the process that it feels like they lost.

That'd work well too

[Alexei Belyakov]

A defeat in Asgard would not sufficiently impact the heroes nor the audience. It would really only hurt Thor. Remember, in the Star Wars universe, ALL planets are under Imperial dominance. The Rebels are scattered & really have no "home" planet. In the MCU, Earth is the "home" planet. Its destruction affects all the members of The Avengers & would also elicit a tremendous emotional response from the viewer. My best guess is that Thanos will complete The Gauntlet & ravage Earth in the second act, forcing the heroes to run. They devise a plan, one out of desperation, to hit Thanos aboard his primary vessel. In the third act, a large confrontation ensues between the group & Thanos - resulting in an Avengers casualty & yet another close escape. Earth is lost, The Nine Realms are all under attack, evil is victorious. But there is hope, perhaps after the credits. In a third film, an expanded version of The Avengers (think The Rebellion) take back the planet, free the realms & recover The Gauntlet.

[Oberon sexton]

Still doesn't work in the phase formate that they're using. Even if phase 3 doesn't involve the big four you've still got Black Panther,Ant-man, dr.Strange that need to be set on earth. Can't do any of those origin stories justice if Thanos has destroyed earth. Literally, you cannot tell an Ant-man or Black Panther story in any other world. Dr.Strange needs to be a brilliant surgeon etc.

[The Question]

Originally Posted by Alexei Belyakov

A defeat in Asgard would not sufficiently impact the heroes nor the audience. It would really only hurt Thor. Remember, in the Star Wars universe, ALL planets are under Imperial dominance. The Rebels are scattered & really have no "home" planet. In the MCU, Earth is the "home" planet. Its destruction affects all the members of The Avengers & would also elicit a tremendous emotional response from the viewer. My best guess is that Thanos will complete The Gauntlet & ravage Earth in the second act, forcing the heroes to run. They devise a plan, one out of desperation, to hit Thanos aboard his primary vessel. In the third act, a large confrontation ensues between the group & Thanos - resulting in an Avengers casualty & yet another close escape. Earth is lost, The Nine Realms are all under attack, evil is victorious. But there is hope, perhaps after the credits. In a third film, an expanded version of The Avengers (think The Rebellion) take back the planet, free the realms & recover The Gauntlet.

The thing is, Thanos doesn't conquer things. He just kills people. If he were going to do anything to the Earth it would be destroying it.

[Alexei Belyakov]

^It works because it actually justifies the need to introduce new heroes in Phase III (through solo films). Doc Strange, BP, The Inhumans...they're all affected by Earth & The Nine Realms coming under attack. Their respective films would not only introduce the GA to their origins but also throw them immediately into the conflict with Thanos. The idea here is to build up the roster as a final stand against The Titan. Phase II will probably only add The Pyms & The GOTG to the mix. The roster facing Thanos is too small to take him by the end of Avengers 2. In a third film taking place after 4-5 Phase III solo films, we can have a roster large enough to believably defeat the guy (or just steal The Gauntlet). I'm also confident that at the end of Avengers 2, most probably as an after-the-credits scene, they'll introduce Adam Warlock - who will shadow the Phase III solo films & contribute to Thanos' downfall in Avengers 3.

[Radioactive1980]

Does anyone think if A2 made stupid money again Kevin Feige would finally give Hulk another film in phase III?

[Alexei Belyakov]

^I think Hulk will be an exclusive Avengers character from here on out. Plus, I think Phase III will consist mainly of origin films for the new additions to the roster. Doc Strange, Inhumans, BP & maybe Luke Cage, Iron Fist & The Punisher. A fourth Iron Man, third Captain America & second Incredible Hulk movie are highly unlikely.

[R_Hythlodeus]

Originally Posted by Radioactive1980

Does anyone think if A2 made stupid money again Kevin Feige would finally give Hulk another film in phase III?

We're closer to a Ruffahulk solo movie than we ever were before.

[Radioactive1980]

Originally Posted by Alexei Belyakov

^I think Hulk will be an exclusive Avengers character from here on out. Plus, I think Phase III will consist mainly of origin films for the new additions to the roster. Doc Strange, Inhumans, BP & maybe Luke Cage, Iron Fist & The Punisher. A fourth Iron Man, third Captain America & second Incredible Hulk movie are highly unlikely.

Interesting. Of course if a film makes money, they will give it a sequel so I wouldn't rule out IM4, he is after all Marvel Studios most successful solo franchise.

And what makes you think they will do a Punisher film in phase III? All 3 Punisher films so far have been panned by the critics and sucked at the box office. Not to mention the character is R-rated and as such would not fit with the tone of the Avengers films.

[OsGom]

Originally Posted by cherokeesam

The "basic idea" comes from two concepts that will be horribly, horribly outdated by 2017 (or later; whenever Avengers 3 is due):

a) that superheroes need to be registered so that SHIELD can monitor them. So far, the MCU is opening with a very clear move towards that at the outset. The issue that superheroes were vigilantes who acted without limits or authority had been around for fifty years, and CW was just Marvel's way of saying, "hey, you know, what gives them the right to be judge, jury and executioner?"

b) George W. Bush's neo-fascism (Patriot Act, red state vs. blue state, etc). Civil War spoke to the political climate in America circa 2005; there'll be a very different dynamic 10-12 years after that.

Civil War is entirely unnecessary in the MCU, and doesn't even fit.

In addition to Cherokee's points. Currently there are no MU heroes with secret identities to protect and not nearly enough heroes to support a Civil War storyline. I wouldn't flat out rule it out as a future arc but it's way to early to even consider.

I envision Thanos as kind of a Sauron/Dark Overlord type character who would work through henchmen and intermediaries. His presence is felt but not fully realized until the final chapter. I would have the heroes solo films relate, in some way large or small, to the collection of the soul stones and finish the series with an Infinity Gauntlet adaptation.

The keys will be maintaining the high quality of the heroes solo films while introducing the elements of Thanos's influence.

[The Question]

The problem with that is that it doesn't seem very much like Thanos to me. I mean, yeah, they might change him for the films, which I'll probably be okay with if the movie is still good, but the thing about Thanos in the comics is that he is very hands on. He almost never has minions of henchmen. He works with people when he has to in order to get what he wants, but in any circumstance where he can go out and do it himself he does so.

[OsGom]

Originally Posted by The Question

The problem with that is that it doesn't seem very much like Thanos to me. I mean, yeah, they might change him for the films, which I'll probably be okay with if the movie is still good, but the thing about Thanos in the comics is that he is very hands on. He almost never has minions of henchmen. He works with people when he has to in order to get what he wants, but in any circumstance where he can go out and do it himself he does so.

Well aside from his adoptive daughter Gamora, Geatar, creations like the Thanosi, armies of space pirates and grunts like the Blood Brothers he has also controlled or manipulated numerous villains and heroes for his own ends.

I do see your point, he is one of the few upper tier villains that seems to like getting his hands dirty but he isn't above using other resources to acheive his ends. I could easily see him manipulating things behind the scenes. This would be especially useful for introducing characters like Gamora, Moondragon or even Drax or introducing organizations like the Universal Church of Truth.

Yes we will definitely want to see Thanos step in and mix it up at some point but they don't need to blow their wad right away.