Avengers: Infinity War Fan Uncovers Thanos Continuity Error
There's a lot that goes into movie-making. Before the project even gets in front of the cameras, before actors like Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana spending hours in the makeup chair transforming into their green and blue-skinned Guardians counterparts, there are the difficult tasks of hiring a director, casting the film, and making the script as flawless as it can be — an editing process that often continues while principal photography is happening.
That said, Marvel Studios undoubtedly had its hands full with Avengers: Infinity War, the superhero ensemble that featured a cast list so long, it could probably wrap around the planet if written down and unraveled. Co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo worked from a script penned by longtime Marvel screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and the fruits of their labors were applauded by critics — one of whom wrote that the "love is spread around pretty equally" among characters in terms of "epic intros, fight sequences, and overall significance to the story."
But that's not to say Avengers: Infinity War is perfect. In fact, one laser-eyed Marvel fan may beg to differ, as they have reportedly discovered a pretty big continuity error in the film: Thanos, played Josh Brolin, holds Vision, played by Paul Bettany, by the throat twice.
Reddit user FoorAJ captured the mistake, creating a graphic that displays the fight between Thanos and Vision, who has the highly sought-after Mind Stone embedded in his forehead.
Earning the girlfriend-of-an-android-superhero award, Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch listens to Vision's wish to sacrifice himself by having her destroy the Mind Stone, thus thwarting Thanos' goal of killing half the universe's population after powering up the Infinity Gauntlet.
Unfortunately, this plan backfires, as Thanos will do anything — and we mean anything, even hurl his adoptive daughter off a cliff to obtain one more Infinity Stone — in order to get his paws on the yellow gem. The Mad Titan turns back time using the Time Stone and bam! — Vision is alive again and the Mind Stone is back for Thanos' taking.
From there, we see Thanos standing above a kneeling Vision, his left hand around the hero's throat. Thanos then smacks Scarlet Witch and sends her flying after she tries to intervene. After she hits the ground, the camera pans back over to Thanos and Vision — but this time, Thanos is shown reaching for Vision's throat even though he just had his big, meaty villain hand around it a few seconds before. Thanos then lifts Vision off the ground, holds him in the air by his throat, and scoops out the Mind Stone.
We know Thanos' whole "thing" is taking tyranny to the extreme and being as over-the-top as possible — not quite as dramatic as the late Loki (rest in peace, prince of darkness) but pretty close — but a double chokehold seems a bit excessive.
Avengers Infinity War Movie Mistake – Thanos chokehold Vision... Twice? from
marvelstudios
Though it's definitely detectible and certainly won't go unnoticed now that it's made the rounds on Reddit, this mistake doesn't really affect the overall quality of the movie at all. Even after learning Thanos grabs Vision by the throat twice in the span of a few dozen seconds, every Marvel fan would likely say that Avengers: Infinity War is still as action-packed, at times hilarious, and ultimately heart-wrenching as it was before anyone noticed that small editing mistake.
And more than that, this certainly isn't the first time a Marvel Cinematic Universe installment has featured an error. There was the weird timeline in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which reportedly followed after Captain America: Civil War, but claimed to take place eight years after The Avengers. Infinity War co-director Joe Russo later admitted that Homecoming's time leap was "a very incorrect eight years."
And remember the mysterious case of Bucky Barnes' (Sebastian Stan) changing birthday? He was first noted as being born in 1916, and then said to have lived from 1917 to 1944. And there was the car dent that fixed itself in The Avengers, the money that magically flew out of a wallet in The Incredible Hulk, and the disappearing headset in Iron Man.
When it comes down to it, the whole "no film is perfect" cliche is a cliche for a reason — and Marvel movies are no exception. But hey, that won't make us love them any less.