The Avengers : Age of Ultron

Thanos will not only be appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy but also in The Avengers 2, the character’s creator says.

We’ve assumed for a while that the Mad Titan would be the central villain in Guardians, and Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige all but confirmed it. However, it’s definitely news that Thanos will continue to be a presence in The Avengers 2, although it’s making good on the promise of The Avengers‘s mid-credits reveal.

This information arrives courtesy of Cosmic Book News, which caught up with Thanos creator Jim Starlin over the weekend at Montreal Comic-Con. During their chat, Starlin confirmed that a deal to have Thanos in both movies is already in place.

It will be interesting to see what this means for the arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two. Although Loki was only introduced in Thor, the third movie in Phase One, it became clear once The Avengers rolled around that he was going to be the main villain of those movies. With a bit more time to plan the next five films, it will be interesting to see whether Thanos is hinted at in Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier before he’s finally revealed in Guardians of the Galaxy. And will he even be the main villain in Guardians? There’s a chance Marvel could save him to serve as the primary antagonist The Avengers 2 — after all, we’ve heard that Magus could be the movie’s vaillain — but our guess is that he’ll be a big presence in both.

Guardians of the Galaxy is due in theaters Aug. 1, 2014, while The Avengers 2 will arrive May 1, 2015.