Thanos creator revealed a Stone Quest was cut from Avengers: Infinity War

A 45-minute scene detailing the quest for one of the Infinity Stones was revealed by the creator of Thanos for Avengers: Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War clocked in with a running time of 149 minutes (2:29) and as you know there were scenes missing from the theatrical cut including a 45-minute sequence that showed how Thanos (Josh Brolin) came in possession of the Power Stone.

During an interview with comic book writer and artist Jim Starlin, one of the co-creators of The Mad Titan (with Mike Friedrich) on CBR’s Near Mint Condition YouTube channel, responded to what it was like seeing one of his creations being adapted on the silver screen at which point he revealed that 45 minutes had to be cut from Infinity War. He said:

"“[A]bout a month before the movie came out, I got an email or something from [Infinity War co-director] Joe [Russo] saying ‘The 45 minutes of Thanos that we had at the beginning of Infinity War, we had it cut.’There was a whole sequence of him getting the first gem and they had to cut that out. They shot it, but they never watched to spend the money on the effects, and they didn’t want the movie to be as long as [Infinity War sequel Avengers: Endgame] was. They didn’t realize it was going to be quite the hit it was.”"

It was interesting to hear Starlin’s response as he shared how initially he was worried about the film Infinity War after he watched Justice League [theatrical cut] as he presumed the introduction of Thanos might be a letdown when he was invited to see the premiere of Infinity War. Lo and behold it turned out to be a major success and grossed over $2 billion worldwide.

Of course, the sub-plot of Thanos’ quest for the Power Stone is not the only scene that was cut and I believe it was better for it. Another scene that was cut was Hulk’s return during the climactic battle which the Russo Bros. decided to cut. Hulk was supposed to burst out of the Hulkbuster armor as Smart Hulk.

What do you think of Jim Starlin and his interview with CBR? Are you interested to see what the Russo Bros. would have done with the missing 45-minute sequence? Or would you rather it had been left out? Sound off in the comments!