Thanos' snap in Avengers: Infinity War sent shockwaves through the Marvel Cinematic Universe as half of the universe's population was killed. As the movie explained, Thanos wanted to do this because of the growing population of the universe, and he's seen firsthand how overpopulation can wipe out a planet. This decision resulted in the deaths of Black Panther, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and more, leaving the surviving heroes to try and reverse the snap in Avengers: Endgame.

However, in the months that have followed Infinity War's release, Thanos' plan and methods have continued to be scrutinized. While it originally looked like he only killed sentient beings, it was later revealed that the snap actually killed half of all life, including animals and plants. Those involved with the film have tried to further elaborate on the plan and make sense of it, but they've really only complicated matters to where it now makes even less sense. Joe Russo stated on Infinity War's home release commentary track that saving the universe isn't actually Thanos' reasoning behind this quest at all, and that it was merely to try and prove that his method was right.

Related: Why Thanos' Infinity War Master Plan Won't Even Work

In the latest Screen Rant video, we've attempted to fix the reason why Thanos would do such an unthinkable and unexplainable act. This scenario is completely hypothetical, not only in terms of how Infinity War would've played out, but also because of real world legal complications. But, maybe Marvel Studios should've found a way for Galactus to be the reason behind Thanos' madness.


This is a fascinating alternate take on Infinity War and would've had lasting impacts on the MCU as a whole. Marvel would already be setting up their next super villain and would do so while showing their first one is actually trying to be a hero. Even though Galactus still cannot be involved in Endgame from a legal standpoint, there are plenty of other theories that something similar to this could happen. We still don't know what Thanos' role in Endgame is, so a reveal that there's another threat out there for the Avengers to fight would be quite the twist.

Fox currently owning Galactus' movie rights though is a major hurdle that make this possible. The scripts for Infinity War and Endgame have been in the works since 2016 and filming happened throughout 2017 and 2018. Even though Disney is now in the final stages of acquiring Fox's TV and film assets (which will revert X-Men and Fantastic Four characters like Galactus to Marvel Studios), this process had yet to begin when both of these films were in development. If Galactus somehow becomes connected to Thanos' motivations down the road, it will mark a major retcon. The criticisms of Thanos' plan are fair, but most are pleased with the version of the Mad Titan Avengers: Infinity War was able to bring to life and can't wait to see how it concludes later this year.