Avengers: Infinity War ends on a chilling note. With half of the universe wiped out by his gauntleted hand, Thanos retires to some backwater planet, content with his work. The final shot of the movie is his proud smile, showing just how mad the Titan really is.
The scene’s a neat callback to the end of The Infinity Gauntlet comic book, but the meaning of it comes across differently in the movie, which has led fans to speculate on what the Russo brothers were intending to show us here. For instance, some thought that the planet Thanos was on was actually Titan, his original homeworld, which he’d resurrected with the help of the Infinity Stones.
We can now confirm that is not the case, though. Anthony and Joe Russo held a special screening of IW in Hollywood yesterday and followed it up with a Q&A for the fans in attendance. The question of the planet Thanos is seen on came up and the filmmakers clarified that it’s not Titan but a world they’re calling Titan 2, a separate planet that the villain has chosen as his new homeland.
“Thanos is on “Titan 2” at the end of of IW, not the original Titan (so he’s not in the past and didn’t fix the planet),” Tweeted Marvel Studios News.
This makes sense with the state of the Infinity Gauntlet at the end of the movie. After that monumental finger snap, the Gauntlet appeared to burn itself out. Knowing that Thanos didn’t then go on to rebuild his home planet means that the Gauntlet’s now likely rendered useless. Will that make him a less dangerous foe for the remaining heroes in Avengers 4? Who knows, but it’s certainly intriguing to think about.
With any luck, we’ll get our first hint at what’s next for Thanos after Avengers: Infinity War when the trailer for A4 arrives. The exact day it’ll premiere is still unknown, but it’s likely to be this Friday.