A new book about the making of the MCU is continuing to deliver insights into how the fate of many of our favourite characters could have been quite different. The latest revelation is that Kevin Feige wanted to kill off even more of the OG Avengers in Endgame than just Iron Man and Black Widow.
Some popular movie franchises, especially a certain space-set saga, have been criticised for “making things up as they went along,” leading to retconning, inconsistencies and a frustrating end for many fans. While the MCU has generally been praised for seeming to know the course it wanted to take and planning things way in advance, it still had certain paths it could have gone down, but didn’t.
Kevin Feige apparently originally proposed a much bleaker end to Endgame, inspired by, of all things…Toy Story 3. We can all picture the heart-wrenching scene from the Pixar tear-jerker, no matter what age we were when we watched it. Woody, Buzz, Jessie and their loyal friends clench hands while in the furnace full of hot garbage, bracing themselves to be melted. Well, Feige envisioned something similar involving Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye.
According to the new book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; “Kevin’s initial pitch was that it was Toy Story 3 – a ‘they’re all gonna jump into a furnace together’ concept,’ reveals Joe Russo. The brothers’ pushback was that there was no possible way for the story to be able to take the time to celebrate each one of them. And that, for the fans, it was an impossible scenario to walk out of the theater and process.”
We don’t know how serious Feige was about this and if it really could have been followed through to such a final conclusion, given that Thor and Hawkeye are characters who are still money-spinners for the studio. The Hawkeye mini-series is coming to Disney+ next month and Thor: Love and Thunder is set for a 2022 release.
Of course, with the introduction of different timelines and multiverses to the MCU, we can’t be certain that any character is dead and buried for good. And with the Black Widow standalone movie finally being released after that character’s death, we can’t rule out seeing more from any of our beloved OG Avengers.