SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME (and other Avengers stories)
Joe and Anthony Russo plotted to murder Chris Evans! After their panel at San Diego Comic Con last week, the Brothers Russo were interviewed by Devan Cogan with Entertainment Weekly. Devan asked if there was anything in Avengers:Endgame that the directors put a lot of work and thought into that the audience and critics maybe didn’t catch. They said there wasn’t anything in the movie, but there was something they clung to for a very long time that was not in the movie/storyline, and that was having Thanos toss poor Captain America’s head at the feet of the defeated Avengers.
They wanted to do what?!
During a visit to EW’s San Diego Comic-Con video studio Friday, Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo discussed a shocking plot point that they once hoped to include in the film. Late in the movie, the 2014 version of Thanos (Josh Brolin) would have massacred all the Avengers, only to then come to the present and throw the severed head of Captain America (Chris Evans) at the feet of our heroes.
“We clung to that story line for so long just for that moment of Thanos walking through a portal and dropping Captain America’s severed head,” Anthony said.
Added Joe, “We had most of the script working except for the third act, because Anthony and I were clinging to this concept that we wanted Thanos to walk up to the Avengers and throw Captain America’s head on the ground. We couldn’t give up on it, and finally we said, ‘All right, what if we don’t do that, can we find another way into the third act?’ And that’s when it turned into what it is now.”
[from Entertainment Weekly via DListed]
Devan kept mentioning that having the decapitated head of our beloved Captain America casually bowled to the broken Avengers was probably a bit dark for audiences to take, to which I would add a hearty “UH-HUH!” In the interview, which is posted below, the Russos said a 2014 timeline Thanos killed Cap. I don’t know if Cap would have stayed dead or if giving him his pretty head back allowed them to move forward with the ending. All I do know is watching his head roll along the ground would have been a crime against humanity…. and an exceptionally cool visual so I can totally see why they clung to this for as long as they did. I would’ve gasped as loudly as when Vision picked up Mjolnir. Ultimately, I think letting Cap live but retire was the way to go. We all guessed he and Tony were being killed and yet it was still too much to have it actually happen. I’m glad they only killed one of them. And that they left all body parts intact. Plus, having Cap’s alternate timeline gives me a fantasy that we will actually get justice for Agent Carter, which should have never been cancelled.
You know who got the beheading cut – Dodger. He just kept chewing up their notes until they scrapped the idea altogether and promised to never speak these words again. Good boy, Dodger!
At the end of the interview, Devon asked a few lightning round questions about the cast. Again, the video is below but here were Anthony (AR) and Joe’s (JR) answers:
Real quick, I want to go through a real quick lightening round about Avengers cast members: So, who complained the most about their costume?
JR: Ruffalo, because he had to wear a loin cloth and he was in a very skintight…
AR: You know, this is when he is performing as Smart Hulk so he’s not himselfSo, for the big finale with everybody in the fight against Thanos, who geeked out about having all those cast members together, who geeked out the most?
JR: Probably Pratt
Who was the worst about spoilers?
JR: Spoilers… well, Holland. I mean, Holland or Ruffalo, it’s like a neck in neck race
Who got the nerdiest about understanding the time travel and the timelines?
JR: Benedict
And then finally, who picks up the fight choreography the fastest?
(together)JR: Evans AR: Chris Evans
JR: He has an incredible physicality. The only way we were able to pull off Winter Soldier is because of Chris Evans, sort of adept physicality and the way that he was able to execute those fight scenes by himself.
So they wanted to rip the head off the man who put them on the MCU map with his adept physicality? No wonder they took The Beard from us, these men are monsters!
“You wanted to do what, now?”
Photo credit: EW and WENN Photos
I shrinked what when I read this headline, but I agree it would have been a cool visual. also, I think you meant cap and not vision picked up the hammer.
Vision picked up the hammer in Age of Ultron. It was a big gasp moment and the reason why Thor agreed to let him join the Avengers
Vision picked up the hammer in Age of Ultron
Edit:Lightpurple got to it first!
I totally would have loved that ending 🤷♀️
Post Isis cinema. We are all too used to seeing such a violent imagery. Can’t believe this was even considered.
It’s the PG13 rating system. They actually depict a lot more violence and death but because they’re not showing blood they can do it at huge global levels and its seen as “family friendly”
Capt head would have been no blood, probably more helmet, and all of 1 second because they’d have to keep PG13 rating.
Personally I wish he did go out in a different way. The guy who always gets back up to fight, let’s everyone in his timeline suffer when he knows he could help them…. but won’t break timelines except to marry a women and unborn the children/grandchildren she had with another man and loved. Sure.
That would have been a cool visual sure, but kids watch these movies. I think that would have been too horrifying for them and a lot of parents would have to deal with scared kids I assume.
Agree. I took my son to see The Dark Knight and we had a month fallout over sleepless nights over all that malevolence.
The Winter Soldier is still my favorite MCU movie and Chris Evan’s fight scenes were some of the best I have ever seen. I hope he will come back to the MCU at least once in the future
Winter Soldier is the best MCU movie. Redford and Jackson played it like a classic 70s spy flick and elevated it, then it had all the pretty action pieces with Evans and Sebastian Stan.
It’s my favorite for sure followed by Avengers and Thor Ragnarok. What makes Winter Soldier great is that apart from the superhero aspect of it it’s just a really good movie. Smart story, great action, great casting, great directing. It all works.
My fave too. Clever and entertaining.
I would love to see that. Steve should’ve died in Endgame. Going back to the past? Really? Dying would’ve been a better ending.
Couldn’t agree with you more
No, Steve deserved his happy ending. It was a great full circle moment for him and Tony’s ending was a great full circle moment as well.
I hear you, there was a good argument for Steve to die.
But I don’t think Falcon would have ever taken the shield unless Steve handed it to him. Not only handed it to him, but couldn’t be able to use it himself, you know? I think in that way, keeping him alive worked.
Deadpool is for adults. Cap is for kids.
That death idea was horrendous.
That’s horrible. Imagine seeing the Captain separated from his lovely head. That’s sadistic and I would be very upset at little kids seeing that.
Dodger has much more sense than those humans. Yes, he’s a good boy.
This would have been utterly traumatic but also would have made excellent film – but only if somehow Steve was able to be alive in the present timeline. Otherwise I and many others would have rioted.
Tony should’ve lived his happily ever after with Pepper and Morgan. Endgame snatched this out his hands and gave it to Steve ugh
I agree with you! Captain America didn’t sacrifice anything since his first movie.
As the biggest iron man Stan, I kind of love the idea of tony, introduced to us as a selfish playboy, making the sacrifice play and Steve, mr duty, honor, and patriotism, seizing happiness for himself!
I’m glad that didn’t happen
I read a long time the big plan was eventually follow the comic book story (I admit I’m not sure about what I’m talking about here, but oh well): Cap dies and Winter Solider becomes the new Captain America. With the face-covering costume, the public doesn’t know it’s not the original Cap for a long time…something along those lines.
Steve would have never stayed . He did not uave a selfish molecule in him. Should have given him a heroes death instead of that insult ending.
They basically did this is Breaking Dawn Part 2, ha. Aro rips Carlisle’s head off in what turns out to be Alice’s vision, so it’s a fakeout.