After popping up in the last few seconds of "The Avengers," it was clear that the intergalactic villain Thanos would return to wreak havoc on the heroes of the Marvel universe in the studio's planned Phase Two. Now signs are pointing to the baddie facing down heroes in both "The Guardians of the Galaxy" and "The Avengers 2."

Thanos creator Jim Starlin told Cosmic Book News that the deal is already in place, and that the purple-skinned alien will first appear in 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy" and then crossover into "The Avengers 2" the next summer.

Thanos could be just one of several new characters in the Joss Whedon-directed sequel.

Marvel co-chairman Louis D'Esposito told Comic Book Movie that fans can expect new characters to appear in "The Avengers 2" and other Phase Two films. “I think in 'The Avengers 2' will see some new characters. We're currently working on Phase 2 and we have 'Iron Man 3,' 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier,' so we returned to those franchises to enlarge them, but I think in 'The Avengers 2' will see one or two new characters."