James Gunn Says Joss Whedon Helped Cast Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy Movie

Director James Gunn and the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy are currently on a press tour to promote the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which hits U.S. theaters on Aug. 1. Gunn, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana went to Singapore to start the tour, and the director revealed an interesting bit of information while there.

Gunn said he worked with writer and director Joss Whedon on the script for Guardians of the Galaxy, but the truly interesting part was the amount of input the Avengers: Age of Ultron director had in casting the villain Thanos.

"We had to work together in casting Thanos because Thanos is going to appear in stuff that I do, as well as stuff Joss does," Gunn said.

Most fans believe Josh Brolin is playing the cosmic villain, but Marvel has not confirmed this yet. Regardless of the actor behind the purple paint, Whedon's input is not surprising given Thanos' appearance in the post-credits scene of The Avengers and the character's importance to future films in the franchise.

In related news, Screen Rant spoke to Gunn on set back in September and asked him about Easter Eggs, references, etc. in the movie:

"I actually have to clear everything with legal. We put in little things like graffiti on the walls and stuff like that. There's a ton, a ton of characters from the comics in this movie, in little tiny roles. But we have to clear everything with legal because once I use their name then I'm screwed in that scene or whatever. We have just tons of reference to you know Marvel Cosmic throughout the movie. And I'm certain probably the most Marvel comics characters ever in one movie.

How do you think Thanos fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments below.