Thanos’ turn in Marvel’s What If…? was inevitable
In sprawling franchises, especially the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a fan-favourite villain can often be too perfectly cast to waste on a one-off. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki burrowed his way into the Thor franchise and came out the other end with his own heroic turn in a Disney Plus show.
Bucky’s turn as The Winter Soldier only lasted a few movies before he chilled out in Wakanda and Sebastian Stan became Avengers material. Elizabeth Olsen was able to transform Wanda Maximoff from a villain into a hero and somewhere in between. Karen Gillan’s trauma as Nebula was so severe that Avengers: Endgame depended on her switching to the hero side.
Marvel is known for its love of reforming villains. In What If …? episode 2, they tackle one of the biggest reform challenges in the mega-franchise’s history: making Thanos a decent guy. Josh Brolin plays the Mad Titan in “What if… T’Challa was a Star-Lord”. He has been made slightly less mad by the influence of a Wakandan prince.
Executive producer Brad Winderbaum says there are no rules about what we can and cannot do with mythology. The biggest ‘rule’ or benchmark that we sought was less about the “What if?” and more about the “Then what?” because that’s where the story would originate. How does this situation challenge the character and give us a new perspective? This was the most important factor in deciding which concepts to create. There are many stories. This is only one way to tell the story.
Winderbaum described the Guardians of the Galaxy spin as “an exploration of how one character can change the galaxy just through their own influence.” T’Challa was kidnapped and taken by the Ravagers by Thanos. He still has a desire for half the universe to be exterminated. He’s calm. T’Challa convinced him that there are better ways to balance resources and consumption.
For example, redistributing resources. The Ravagers that follow the Wakandan Star-Lord are more Robin and his Merry Men than Captain Jack and the pirates in the Caribbean. They live to save and serve. T’Challa was able to reach this timeline’s Thanos in time to sway him from his master plan. He’s also rightfully criticized for speaking genocidal nonsense whenever he brings it up.
