There was a time in the MCU when Thanos was not portrayed by Hollywood superstar and Oscar nominated actor Josh Brolin. Back when we first caught a glimpse of the Mad Titan in 2012’sAvengers, he was played in costume by Damion Poitier. Today, we have a look at Poitier in his glorious purple makeup thanks to Ironhead Studios.
Josh Brolinwore a motion capture suit and was mostly rendered in CGI for his appearances in the MCU. That wasn’t initially the case with Damion Poitier, who wore a practical costume and make-up on set for the very first, very short scene featuring the iconic villain. Ironhead Studios says this about the images they have just shared.
“Here’s a look back to 2011 at some behind the scenes photos capturingThanosfrom the set ofThe Avengers. Jose designed and sculpted the makeup as well as the helmet and armor. The makeup appliances were painted and applied to Damion Poitier by Thom Floutz.”
Damion Poitieris an actor and a stuntman who has over 70 credits to his name. He does appear sans make-up inAvengersas Man #1 and returned to play the role of ‘Hero Merc #1’ inCaptain America: Civil War. Thanos had been teased in the MCU since the very firstThormovie, and he made his big screen debut in the post-credit scene forThe Avengers.
Josh Brolin officially came in and took over the role of Thanos for his memorable turn inGuardians of the Galaxy, which gave the Mad Titan his most substantial screen time yet. Josh Brolin’s Thanos would also return in 2015’sAvengers: Age of Ultron.
It wasn’t until six years later though, in 2018’sAvengers: Infinity War, that MCU fans really got to see what Thanos was all about, as he collected the Infinity Stones, performing the Snap heard around the world, only to return in this past summer’sEndgame, where he was beheaded and later vanquished as his past self by Tony Stark’s Snap.
Josh Brolin didn’t have to wear any makeup on set as Thanos, but as fans start to get a look at what was originally used, many are sad to see that Brolin’s version of the character was fully CGI, wondering what could have been had he gone the full makeup route.
Thanos has died twice in the MCU. Though, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of the big purple baddie. Some suspect he may show up inEternals, and with Loki using the Time Stone to travel to various points in the MCU timeline for his own Disney+ show, its quite possible that Josh Brolin could be back to reprise the character. And it’s likely we’ll at least get to hear his voice once again, as nearly every actor in the MCU is coming back for the Marvel Disney+ animated seriesWhat If…?You can check out the original Thanos thanks toIronhead Studios.
