Whedon plotting Thanos as villain for final Avengers film

'Avengers Assemble' director Joss Whedon has broached the subject of unveiling Marvel supervillain Thanos for the superhero franchise.

Whedon suggests that the character, who makes a super-brief appearance in the post-credits of the first film, may be pulled out for the final film in the series.

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“Well, Thanos is more powerful [than The Avengers]. He is so powerful, he is not someone you can just trot out and punch him,” he told Desde Hollywood.

“Like he did in the comics, you want him to be threading through the universe and to save the big finale for the big finale. He is definitely a part of what I've got going on.

“The thing about The Avengers is that they are very powerful, but they're not very stable. So, there will definitely be some people that will shake them up in the next installment.”

Whedon also discussed the likelihood of Robert Downey Jr hanging up his Iron Man suit at some point in the future.

“I want him to play it forever,” he said. “The great thing is that he has a flying metal suit. So it's not like those Charles Bronson or Roger Moore movies where you're like 'Dude, you can barely stand.' He’s got some fight in him.

“At the same time, if Robert decides to hang it up, he has a perfectly good excuse.”

'Avengers Assemble 2' is slated for release through Marvel Studios on May 1, 2015.