Ever since Avengers: Endgame hit screens, there has been a frequent debate over whether the grand plan of Thanos to wipe out half the universe was not actually as bad as it was made out to be. The subject recently came to the attention of Avatar director James Cameron, who recently told Time that he was very much able to “relate” to the quandary over Thanos’ way of balancing the universe. The director said:

"I can relate to Thanos. I thought he had a pretty viable answer. The problem is nobody is going to put up their hand to volunteer to be the half that has to go."

Cameron’s comments come into more perspective when taking into account the director’s views on environmentalism and the climate change crisis. As someone who has always been happy to speak his mind, it is not surprising that Cameron is one of the few people who can contemplate wiping out half a planet as a “viable answer” to solving the environmental issues being caused by human activity on Earth right now, and do so with a smile.

Related: MCU: Thanos’ Best Quotes in the Franchise, Ranked

Was Thanos Right?

Josh Brolin as Thanos in Avengers: Endgame
Marvel Studios

It is a pretty straight forward question in principle, as the idea of anyone snapping their fingers and “dusting” half of the universe is an idea that should be horrifying and instantly set that person as the villain of anyone’s story. However, in a time when people continue to rally against the changes being made to ways of living in order to try and slow down the changes being made to the world’s atmosphere, there are many who are on board with the “Thanos was right” party.

The phrase itself became a popular hashtag following the release of Avengers: Endgame, and soon after merchandise emblazoned with the slogan began to appear. It has now been four years since the Avengers assembled to take down the Mad Titan and bring his plans of universe balancing to an end, but the legacy of his ideal still continues to live on in pop culture and frequently rears its head from time to time.

Of course, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a new “Big Bad” to contend with in the form of Kang, someone who has even grander ideas of bringing about a reset to not only the universe, but the multiverse. While this seems to be an even more over the top plan to restart the world, it would not be surprising if there are some people sitting in a few years’ time uttering the words,”You know what, Kang had a point.”

While most of these references are made in a tongue-in-cheek way, there is certainly a sense that some people are getting a little bit bored of being constantly in a state of overcrowding, with increasing reports of all kinds of environmental devastation coming if things don’t change. While it may seem, in rational terms, that simply eradicating half the universe is a pretty extreme solution, it looks like the theory does have supporters even in the world of celebrity.