‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ Plot Spoilers: Thanos Is Coming! 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Will Introduce The Death-Loving Titan For A Confrontation With Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

"Avengers: Age Of Ultron" is a turning point for the Avengers. Meanwhile, "Guardians of the Galaxy" opens the door for Phase 3-when Marvel goes 'cosmic.'

They have teased Thanos since the first Avengers movie, and every Marvel fan worth his salt knows that any mention of the "Infinity Gems" will inevitably lead to Thanos. The purple-skinned titan who is obsessed with Death (the entity Death in the Marvel Universe) wants to gain all the Infinity Gems to become the most powerful being in the universe and eventually annihilate all living things as a homage to Death herself.

The Infinity Gems have appeared in different forms-the Tessaract and the aether are examples.  The references to Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will begin with "Guardians of the Galaxy."

In an Entertainment Weekly interview with GOTG director James Gunn, he confirmed their connection with Avengers 3.

"We're definitely connected to Avengers 3."

That's simple enough.

Screenrant provides the additional details: "No voice actor has been cast yet to bring Thanos to life, or at least announced, but Gunn confirms that Thanos will be motion-captured and animated, just like Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel). Gunn describes Thanos' role in the villain hierarchy as the the "head of the snake." Expect Thanos to play a key role in Guardians of the Galaxy despite having what we expect to be minimal screentime as his henchman Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) steps up as the primary antagonist of the film."

Specific details follow:

"Ronan, alongside Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), all share history with Thanos, as revealed in the official Guardians of the Galaxy prequel comic. Ronan was a mentor of sorts to the pair of lethal ladies, who are seemingly bio-engineered super assassins. For some reason, Thanos punishes them harshly (we won't spoil how) and it caused Gamora to leave Thanos' side. The mission for Thanos and his followers, in large part, has to do with tracking down and acquiring the orb we saw in the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer and on display at Comic-Con (Thanos has been after it for years). That orb, as we suspect, might be one of the mighty Infinity Stones - much like the Tesseract (Cosmic Cube) and Aether are as we learned in the mid-credits button of Thor: The Dark World."

While GOTG may appear to be a goofy film with the least popular characters, they have placed it as the cornerstone for the cinematic universe. Marvel's hope is that the movie will eventually be remembered for its own merits, not just its role in the plotline.