The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of many horrific beats, but some of them were almost even worse for how different they nearly were. Like any movie series, the MCU has plenty of last-minute changes that might have drastically altered the course of the overarching story. Many of these apply to the series’ most dire moments, including deaths, defeats, and villainous returns.
Some of these drastic alterations to the various story beats of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies may have made their relevant moments genuinely worse from a storytelling perspective, being a less effective narrative gut punch that what ended up on screen. Others may have been a little too sad to bear, crossing the line of emotional damage the series might be willing to inflict. In either case, it’s still fascinating to consider just how different the franchise might be should some of its original plans had come to fruition.
10
Loki’s Death In Thor: The Dark World Was Almost Permanent
Totally ruining his redemption arc
No MCU character has had as many fake-out deaths as Loki, the Norse God of Mischief and first major villain of the franchise. As a trickster god, Loki faking his own death multiple times makes sense for his character, though he was able to eventually enjoy a brilliantly-handled redemption arc. It might be surprising to learn that Loki’s second “death” in Thor: The Dark World was originally intended to be permanent.
In Thor: The Dark World, Loki is seemingly killed by Kurse and the Dark Elves, completing his redemption arc early with a tearful goodbye to his brother. However, test audiences allegedly weren’t pleased with the fan-favorite villain meeting his end so soon in the series, prompting the filmmakers to reveal that Loki’s death was a fake. Loki dying so early in the series would’ve robbed the story of his poignant redemption in Thor: Ragnarok and actual final sacrifice at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
9
Happy Hogan Almost Died In Iron Man 3
Robbing the MCU of a fan-favorite character
When Jon Favreau first gave himself a cameo role as Tony Stark’s beloved bodyguard Happy Hogan in the original Iron Man, few could have expected him to become such a fan favorite. Yet Favreau’s comedic chops and playful banter with his bratty charge made for the perfect side character. Alarmingly, Iron Man 3 was originally to feature Happy’s death, with the beloved Stark Industries employee not waking up from his severe injuries caused by Jack Taggart’s Extremis-induced explosion in early drafts of the script.
Favreau himself was the one to rally against this change internally, eventually convincing the filmmakers to relent and keep Happy alive. The MCU has been all the better for it, with Happy showing up in various films as the face of Stark Industries following Tony’s death and even vetting potential Avengers candidates in his ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine cameo. Killing off Happy Hogan would have been an arbitrary and unnecessary way of raising the already high stakes in Iron Man 3.
8
Aunt May’s Other Death
Would have only been a needless twisting of the knife
Even for the death scenes in the MCU that actually did end up happening, the series has been known to make some prescient changes regarding their circumstances. Aunt May’s demise in Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the lowest moments in the entire MCU, shockingly tearing down Peter Parker’s most prominent support system in a way few other Spider-Man stories dare to do. It was hard enough watching her succumb to her injuries after finally telling Peter his famous mantra regarding power and responsibility.
However, the original death scene didn’t have Aunt May die on the spot. Rather, her fate was meant to be left ambiguous at first, surviving an initial ambulance ride in which she gives her nephew the famous line only to eventually be revealed to not make it. This approach would have been brutal with the false hope for May’s survival it might’ve inspired, but it also would have taken away from Peter’s motivations to defeat the Green Goblin and deflated his anger in questioning his policy of non-lethal intervention.
7
Gamora Almost Died Way Earlier
And wouldn’t have had the chance to come back as a variant
One of the more infamous changes to the story the MCU has made is the death of Gamora. The handling of Gamora’s character arc is one of the few instances in which the MCU’s overarching story overrode the control James Gunn had over the Guardians of the Galaxy series. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gamora was supposed to die in the original draft, possibly sacrificing herself to save Star-Lord in a similar manner to Yondu.
The Russo brothers’ need to have Gamora alive for her tragic demise in Avengers: Infinity War ultimately led to Yondu being the one to die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 instead. Both films are better for it, as more time with Gamora helps make her death at the hands of her father feel all the more morose and emphasizes the tragedy of her time-displaced variant who ends up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s hard not to feel as though Gunn has some lingering hard feelings for this change due to Star-Lord’s frustrated elevator monologue.
6
Yondu Nearly Died In His First Appearance
Leaving his legacy much more villainous than it is today
Speaking of Yondu, his own death also nearly came much earlier in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. In the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Yondu is portrayed as much more of a villainous character than he is remembered as today, emphasized as the vile space pirate who kidnapped a young boy from Earth and constantly threatened his life. It wasn’t until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that his true softer side was allowed to come out, admitting his love in a roundabout way for his adoptive son with his final moments.
This makes it all the more surprising to hear that Star-Lord actually killed Yondu in an early version of Guardians of the Galaxy. The scene in which Star-Lord swaps out the Infinity Stone contained within the Orb for a Troll doll originally ended with Yondu and his crew opening an improvised explosive device from Rocket Raccoon, killing Yondu and the other Ravagers. The change was made after Yondu became something of a fan-favorite worth keeping alive, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is all the stronger for it.
5
Obadiah Stane Might Have Survived
Possibly setting a very different tone for the MCU
It’s well-known by now that much of the original Iron Man was made by ear, with director Jon Favreau flying by the seat of his pants. Between last-minute day-of-shooting re-writes and Robert Downey Jr.’s improvised lines as Tony Stark, so much about the debut MCU film might have been very different. One of the most impactful would-be changes was the ultimate fate of Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stana, a.k.a. the Iron Monger, the MCU’s first supervillain.
In an old interview with Cinemablend, Jeff Bridges revealed that the script initially called for the Iron Monger to survive his battle with Iron Man. The hero was meant to open up the Iron Monger’s suit after the battle, only to find Obadiah Stane mysteriously vanished, gone without a trace, to seemingly terrorize his nemesis again in a future film. The day of filming, Favreau instead informed Bridges that his character wouldn’t be surviving, tying up a loose end that would have been unnecessary for the early MCU.
4
Red Skull’s Return Was Almost Far Sooner
Drastically altering the first Avengers ᴀssembly
One villain from Phase One that does actually return is none other than Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. The Red Skull. A high-ranking military officer in Nazi Germany and a dedicated member of HYDRA obsessed with unlocking the power of the Tesseract, the Red Skull is the primary antagonist of Captain America: The First Avenger. After being mysteriously teleported by the Tesseract at the end of the film, Red Skull finally returns in Avengers: Infinity War as the guardian of the Soul Stone, somehow warped to Vormir.
Amazingly, Red Skull almost returned to the series far sooner in The Avengers. The Avengers screenwriter Zak Penn revealed in an interview with CBR that Red Skull was initially considered to be the film’s co-villain alongside Loki, making two returning villains at the head of the Avengers’ first ᴀssembly. Ultimately, Red Skull was written out to make more room for Thanos, a development which worked out better in the long run for the Infinity Saga.
3
Hawkeye Could’ve Won The Sacrifice Contest On Vormir
Undercutting Black Widow’s sacrifice
On the topic of Vormir, the MCU’s second visit to the mysterious home of the Soul Stone also could have gone very differently. When Black Widow and Hawkeye learn from Red Skull that one of them must sacrifice themselves in order to procure the stone, the two engage in a sort of duel to see who can nobly fling themselves off a cliff the fastest. Black Widow ends up winning this contest, reminding Clint that he has a wife and kids to live for.
Originally, Hawkeye was actually meant to win this battle, being the one to perish while Black Widow lived. Not only would this decision have been far more devastating thanks to Natasha’s rightful points about Clint’s family, but it also would have undermined her own heroic journey and need to pay the ultimate price so that others could live. Black Widow’s arc simply makes too much sense ending on Vormir, and taking away her moment by killing Hawkeye instead would have been a cheap way to make the scene sadder.
2
The Snap Nearly Happened In Endgame Rather Than Infinity War
A down-to-the-wire victory for Thanos
The Snap is perhaps the single most powerful emotional gut-punches ever unleashed by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The fact that Thanos succeeds in his plan at the end of Avengers: Infinity War only made it all the harder to swallow, leaving the film on a devastating cliffhanger loss that made the wait until Avengers: Endgame an agonizing one. Shockingly, the Snap that killed half the MCU was almost held off on.
Initially, the Snap was meant to happen at the start of Avengers: Endgame rather than the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. More specifically, the Snap would have happened towards the end of the first act, backloading even more significance into Avengers: Endgame. Changing the devastating moment to be a crushing defeat at the end of the first film works much better narratively, allowing Avengers: Endgame to start with a time skip that smoothed over the aftermath.
1
Odin Almost Allowed Malekith To Kill Frigga
A shocking lack of judgment on Odin’s part
One supposedly good MCU character who has been called out for his cruelty and tyrannical past is none other than the All-Father, Odin. Though idolized by Thor, Odin was revealed to have a dark past as a ruthless conqueror working alongside the bloodthirsty Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Though he seems to be reformed by the time of the MCU’s story start, Thor: The Dark World almost implied that his softer side was responsible for getting Frigga killed.
Frigga dies protecting Jane Foster from the evil Dark Elves in Thor: The Dark World, but Odin was initially downright complicit in the death of his wife and the mother of his children. A deleted scene shows Odin allowing Kurse and Malekith to kill his wife, laying down his weapon in surrender when the two take her hostage, only for them to stab her anyway. This moment would have made Odin’s story in the future of the MCU tricky to justify, especially his strained relationship with Hela.
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