X

'Infinity War' director wants Thanos to be new Darth Vader

The Force of online disagreement is strong with this one. Can the "Avengers" villain even compete with the Dark Lord of the Sith?

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
darthvaderthanos

Does Thanos (Josh Brolin, right) really belong in the same universe of evil as iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader?

Disney

Any villain who claims he or she can compete with Darth Vader better be able to back it up, or prepare to be Force-choked. Does Thanos, of the upcoming "Avengers: Infinity War," qualify? That film's co-director, Joe Russo, hopes so.

Watch this: 'Avengers: Infinity War' trailer

"Darth Vader was the pre-eminent villain of my childhood, and we're hoping to make a Darth Vader for a new generation," Russo said in an upcoming Empire magazine interview cited by Comic Book Movie. "We're hoping he has that complexity to him, and that he strikes fear into the heart of the audience, but at the same time they go on a journey with him. Frankly, 'Avengers 3' is his movie." 

Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, is also one of the many villains on the cover of Empire's new issue, showing the greatest villains as voted on by readers. The photo collage includes The Joker, Freddy Krueger, Kylo Ren, Lord Voldemort, and, of course, Vader himself. 

Fans are already arguing about several of the reader choices (Loki? Gollum?), but it's the inclusion of Thanos, months before he's seen in a full movie, that seems to have stirred the most controversy.

Fans have months to argue about the decision before actually seeing Thanos strut his bad self onscreen. "Avengers: Infinity War" is scheduled for release on April 25 in Australia, April 27 in the UK and May 4 in the US.

2018 sci-fi, fantasy and geek movies to get excited about

See all photos