A glimpse at an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney Parks ride reveals an older Thanos with a beard. Marvel has slowly developed a larger presence at Disney Parks across the globe ever since Disney bought Marvel in 2009, the year after the release of the megahit blockbuster Iron Man, which kicked off the MCU. This includes the Avengers Campus, a location at Disney's California Adventure where guests can meet Marvel characters and experience Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, as well as ride the massive drop in Mission: Breakout, the former Tower of Terror that has now been retrofitted to feature the Guardians of the Galaxy.
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Including Thanos in one of their parks makes perfect sense, as the character (who is performed in motion-capture by Josh Brolin) is one of the most important figures in the MCU. He is the primary antagonist of the Infinity Saga, which follows his efforts to acquire all the Infinity Stones and use their combined power to erase half the universe, easing the burden of sharing resources among the remainder of the population. Although Thanos did accomplish his goal, the people he destroyed were later brought back by the Avengers in 2019's Avengers: Endgame, a film in which Thanos was defeated twice, thanks to time travel bringing back a previous version of Thanos after the original was executed.
During the final day of D23 Expo 2022, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D'Amaro led a presentation titled A Boundless Future: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. During the presentation, they shared a glimpse at artwork for an upcoming Marvel-themed Disney Parks ride, showing an older Thanos with a beard. The image was later reshared on the official Disney Parks Twitter account with an ominous caption warning that "you never know what foes you’ll face from anywhere and everywhen." Check out the official post below:
Although there weren't any details on the ride or the in-universe story it will tell, it is likely it will take place in the context of the Multiverse Saga, which comprises the current Phase 4 and the upcoming Phases 5 and 6, concluding with Avengers crossover films The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. Given their reference to "anywhere and everywhen," it seems that this particular Thanos is from a different universe, in which he survived. Whether he accomplished his goal of eliminating half the universe is unknown, but a powerful-looking Thanos paired with the chaos that Kang will be wreaking certainly seems like a fraught situation for the ride's heroes to face.
This latest development in the Marvel Cinematic Universe likely won't actually impact the overall canon of the films. However, as a lark, it is certainly intriguing to explore what an older Thanos would look like, as well as how he would behave. Hopefully, more details surface about the ride soon, revealing what visitors will be able to expect from this version of Thanos and what other threats may be surfacing alongside him.