Have you ever seen those doctored images of sharks with human teeth? It makes them seem a bit more friendly, right? Well, consider this the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of that.
Throughout Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos was a terrifying force to be reckoned with. His large stature and bulky body would intimidate everyone — including the Hulk. But strip away the CGI, and you’re left with something so ridiculous looking that we can’t imagine having to act scared of it.
iO9 recently released behind-the-scenes footage from Infinity War, showing Josh Brolin standing in for the computer generated villain. While the clunky rig equipment is expected, Brolin also had to provide actors with a reference of how tall Thanos really was.
“You have to give Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr., and anyone else acting across Brolin some credit for being able to accomplish anything serious during these scenes.” I KNOW, MY PEOPLE IS SO TALENTED ❤❤❤ #AvengersInfinityWar https://t.co/RjqoBZEm2X
— scarlet letter (@thouartlove) July 27, 2018
To do so, the production team created a head and shoulders to mount over Brolin. To say the least, it looks pretty silly, especially when you see it in motion in the video at iO9.
Watch Josh Brolin become Thanos in this exclusive behind-the-scenes Avengers: Infinity War clip https://t.co/kA0eLzLkpt pic.twitter.com/uvCnIXj16Y
— io9 (@io9) July 26, 2018
As comical as it looks, it’s quite impressive to think that, during the action-heavy battle on Titan, Brolin was able to keep up with that extension hanging over him.
behind the scenes of the fight between the avengers and the guardians against thanos#InfinityWar pic.twitter.com/J8oC1RcoYt
— danny rand (@TheGreenFlash01) July 26, 2018
so this is what thanos looked like without the cgi i have to laugh pic.twitter.com/daev04FgnT
— anshe⚡️| 79 days (@valkyrieIoki) July 24, 2018
In regard to the Mad Titan’s CGI work, people had plenty to say, both for and against.
Love you Josh, but your bias is showing. Thanos looked like a purple Bruce Willis. A ton of the marvel cgi is awful. This is an underwater movie. The CGI looks totally respectable. And the trailer was solid
— Nelson Espe (@RussTop3Ever) July 21, 2018
You think Thanos scared us? Lol A cgi baldy …sure Jan
— JohnnyMp (@johnnyjl96) July 24, 2018
This isn’t the first time behind-the-scenes footage has revealed the absurdity of scenes pre-CGI. Game of Thrones and Jurassic World were recently revealed to push their cast’s acting limits with disembodied dragon heads and humans standing in as ferocious velociraptors.
It’s all just part of the magic.
