Why Thanos’ Iconic “Fun” Quote Only Appeared In Infinity War’s Trailer

One of Thanos’ most memorable quotes from Avengers: Infinity War is “Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe, but this does put a smile on my face,” but here’s why it only featured in the movie’s trailer. The Mad Titan Thanos famously made his first appearance at the end of 2012’s The Avengers, teasing him as the next big threat in the MCU. His first real appearance proved somewhat disappointing, with his small role in 2014’s Guardians Of The Galaxy – played by Josh Brolin – lacking the required menace. That all changed with Avengers: Infinity War, where his plan to acquire the Infinity Stones and wipe out half the universe was finally executed.

Infinity War had a sprawling cast of characters, but it took the bold narrative step of making Thanos himself the protagonist. He’s the one battling against the odds to “balance” the universe, and after some painful sacrifices, he succeeds. Of course, Avengers: Endgame saw the surviving members of the team reunite for a “time heist” to undo Thanos’ snap. The Mad Titan may have finally been defeated in Endgame – twice, technically – but he’s still likely to go down as the most iconic villain in Marvel’s shared universe.

It helps that both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame gave Brolin some juicy scenes and dialogue to work with. Some of his most memorable quotes include “Perfectly balanced, as all things should be” and – in what’s retrospectively one of the MCU’s most devastating lines – “You should have gone for the head.” Once the trailer for Infinity War – which dropped Drax’s Thanos’ arc – debuted, his quote “Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe, but this does put a smile on my face” became an instant favorite. However, this line was cut from the final movie, with directors Joe and Anthony Russo deciding it just didn’t fit the character.

The Russos spoke about the differences between Avengers: Infinity War’s trailer and the final product on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2018 (via the Hindustan Times), and specifically cutting Thanos’ “fun” line. “I think he used to say that on Knowhere to Gamora when he emerged from the Reality Cloak as the aether exposed him. And I think we changed it to something that was a little more specific to the storytelling.” The brothers look at the creation of a trailer as a different experience to the movie and tailored the previews for both Infinity War and Endgame to minimize spoilers. It also makes sense to cut “Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe…,” as it doesn’t quite suit Thanos’ personality.

The Mad Titan isn’t particularly enjoying his mission but sees it as an absolute necessity. The Russos also discussed the shot of the titular team at the end of Avengers: Infinity War’s trailer as they run towards the camera also being removed, and confirmed that not only was it never going to be part of the movie but it was created just for the preview.