A new book about the making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to reveal new details about how the fates of many of our favorite characters may have turned out very differently. Kevin Feige wanted to kill off many more of the original Avengers in Endgame than just Iron Man and Black Widow, according to the latest revelation.
Some popular film franchises, particularly one set in space, have been chastised for “creating stuff up as they went along,” resulting in retconning, inconsistencies, and a disappointing conclusion for many fans. While the MCU has been praised for appearing to know what road it wants to go and planning ahead of time, there were still several paths it could have taken but didn’t.
Kevin Feige reportedly offered a considerably bleaker ending to Endgame, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye were all part of Feige’s vision.
“Kevin’s initial proposal was that it was Toy Story 3 – a ‘they’re all going to leap into a furnace together’ concept,” writes Joe Russo in the new book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The brothers retorted that there was no way the story could possibly take the time to honor each of them individually. And for the fans, walking out of the theater and processing was an impossible scenario.” Whatever, he thought it was good he didn’t do that and we are still Blessed with Some of the original Avengers.
We don’t know how serious Feige was about it, or if it could have been carried out to such a satisfying finish, given that Thor and Hawkeye are still profitable characters for Marvel.
Of course, with the MCU’s introduction of alternate realities and multiverses, we can’t be sure that any character is truly dead.
And, with the release of the Black Widow standalone film so soon after her death, we can’t count out more appearances from any of the original Avengers.
