Infinity War is coming out in theatres later in this month, and with that, I wanted to discuss and share my thoughts on something The Russo Brothers (directors of Infinity War) revealed in a new issue of Total Film, in which they revealed that they cut Thanos's planned backstory:

"We were considering showing (Thanos') backstory, but ultimately felt it wasn't necessary for the movie... (Infinity War is still) told from his (Thanos') point of view."

This has frustrated quite a bit of people who fear that this will hurt Thanos's characterisation, and make him weaker as a villain, which, if that were the case, would be problematic considering they've built up this character as the biggest, baddest villain since 2012, so it is fair to want a good villain from Marvel, this time more than any other time. That said, do I think Thanos' backstory being cut is cause for concern? Well, not really. Why? A couple of reasons:

1. Faith in the filmmakers.

I don't mean to speak for everyone else -- but I personally have faith in the Russo Brothers & Markus/McFeely (the screenwriters). The Winter Soldier & Civil War were fantastic CBMs, the latter of which did a great job balancing a large ensemble cast, and throughout these films, the Russo's have shown regard for the source material and for storytelling & characterisation. These are the guys who gave Black Panther a character arc in a movie where he appeared for 15 minutes. These are the guys who made Captain America a fan-favourite within the MCU, & gave him a fleshed-out character arc of adjusting to the real world, finding out that he died for nothing, and learning to not blindly follow authority, but instead fight for what is right. The fact they managed to give several characters development & personal stakes in Civil War, in itself, is an astonishing feat.

2. Compromises have to be made, and the Russo's have shown themselves apt in deciding where to compromise.

In addition, this isn't the first instance of the Russo's cutting things out of a Marvel movie, and in all instances, there's been good cause to do so. Exhibit A: Peggy's funeral was originally much longer, but the Russo's cut it out after seeing that the funeral served it's purpose well enough as it was in the final film, and they turned out right. Exhibit B: There was also a scene in which Zemo meets and converses with Doctor Broussard, until they realised it would spoil a reveal later on in the film. Exhibit C: After finding himself in UN custody, there was a scene in which Natalia converses with T'Challa, amazed by his reveal as Black Panther, and expressing disdain toward the reaction to the death of his father, with T'Challa insisting he can outwit The Avengers. And sure, while it would've been cool, it would've grinded the pacing of the film to a halt, standing out as a less essential scene at a plot-heavy part of it. Point in hand is, that the Russo's are making films with dozens of characters, and with films of this scale, there has to be compromise, and the Russo's have shown themselves capable of making compromises that aren't fatal to the quality of the films. People need to go into Infinity War expecting this to be the case - because if fanboys go into this movie expecting the second coming of Christ, we're gonna leave with half the fanbase sending death threats to the Russo Brothers, instead of having a healthy discussion about it. With dozens of characters and 10 years worth of build-up coming together in one film, you've gotta expect that a) compromises will have to be made, b) not every character-interaction, iconic comic book panel and wish list item will be ticked off and c) it'll likely be heavier on action than dialogue.

3. Thanos doesn't need backstory to be a good villain.

I don't need to see Thanos as a 5 year old for him to be a good character. Some of the most iconic villains in movie history, from The Joker to Hannibal Lecter to Hans Landa to Anton Chigurh didn't get a 5-10 minute montage showing us the characters growing up and where they come from. Sure, it works for some villains, such as Magneto, but various instances in the history of cinema have shown that you can craft a great villain without showing us the villain growing up. If I understand what person Thanos is now, I don't need to see him as a 5 year old. If Thanos is intimidating and a threat to the heroes, I don't need to see him as a 5 year old. If Josh Brolin gives a terrific performance, I don't need to see Thanos as a 5 year old. The Russo Brothers have said time and again that Thanos will have the most screen time of any character in Infinity War, and if they utilise this time wisely - backstory or not - he can be a great villain. I've seen a lot of people say that Ronan The Accuser from GoTG was a weak villain because we didn't see his backstory, which I couldn't agree less with. Ronan was a weak villain because he was bland, boring, and delivered some of the most generic moustache-twirling villain dialogue imaginable, and showing us him as a kid wouldn't have changed any of that. Why would I care about the past-version of him if the movie can't get me to care for the present version?

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Those are just my thoughts on the matter. Hopefully, I didn't go on for too long, but regardless of whether you agree/disagree with me, or did/didn't enjoy the blog, share your own thoughts below. Thank you!