10 MCU Deleted Scenes That Change Everything

The collected movies and TV shows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have seen many scenes cut over the franchise’s history, but some of these deleted scenes would have changed the MCU considerably. Since the very beginning of the franchise, the movies of the MCU have established it as one of the biggest and most ambitious interconnected narratives of all time. Adapting the many stories of the comics into one large shared movie universe has often required the use of considerable foresight, with even the most innocent interactions between characters capable of teasing the narrative direction of future movies.

In the process of creating such a sprawling narrative, many scenes have been deleted from their movies over the history of the MCU. However, some of these scenes contained teases for scrapped futures, and others contextualized the franchise’s story in a way that would have drastically altered the overall narrative. Naturally, these deleted scenes are not considered canon, but had they actually made it into their finished films, they had the potential to have massive ramifications for the franchise as a whole. Here are 10 deleted scenes in the MCU that would have changed everything.

Related: Every Upcoming Marvel Movie: Full MCU Phase 5 & 6 List (& Beyond)

10 Yon-Rogg’s Meeting With The Supreme Intelligence

Though it may not have massively altered the timeline of the MCU, a deleted scene from Captain Marvel could have subtly altered the film’s third-act reveal. Per CinemaBlend, the scene would have shown the Kree warrior Yon-Rogg meeting with the Supreme Intelligence, revealing that the person he most admires (whose form the Supreme Intelligence is said to take) is none other than himself. This reflection of Yon-Rogg would have revealed his prideful and arrogant nature much earlier in the film, very subtly undermining the film’s eventual reveal that Yon-Rogg himself was the villain all along.

9 Daredevil’s Armor Wars Tease In Spider-Man: No Way Home

Though Daredevil’s inclusion in Spider-Man: No Way Home was relatively minor, had his deleted scene been left in, it could have had big ramifications for the character’s future. Per The Direct, the scene features Matt Murdock defending Peter Parker from the Department of Damage Control, insisting that his client “has nothing to do with the missing technology.” Not only did the scene create a further link between Spider-Man and Daredevil by giving the character more screen time, but it subtly hinted at the Man Without Fear’s appearance in Armor Wars, which will follow the missing technology in question.

8 Tony Stark Meets His Daughter In The Soul World

As revealed by the directors, a deleted scene in Avengers: Endgame almost gave Tony Stark a slightly different ending, transporting him to the Soul World after his heroic sacrifice for a final exchange with his daughter Morgan. The scene would have changed the character’s ending considerably, though: instead of his death being a sudden and unexpected moment of self-sacrifice, it would have given some added closure to his story. Though the deleted scene offers a more emotional farewell for the hero, it could have undermined the impact of his death on the franchise as a whole.

7 Star-Lord’s Motivation For Punching Thanos

Of the many choices made by the characters of Avengers: Infinity War‘s cast, none are so regularly debated as Star-Lord’s ill-advised emotional outburst that ultimately allowed Thanos to win. However, a deleted scene actually better explains why Star-Lord felt so compelled to punch Thanos and would have changed the discourse surrounding his actions in the finished film. After losing Gamora on Knowhere, the Guardians discovered a coded message on their ship explaining that Gamora was alive. Thinking he still has a chance to rescue her, Star-Lord confronts Thanos, only to learn that Gamora is, in fact, already dead, meaning the deleted scene adds some much-needed context. (Source: MovieWeb)

6 Odin’s Alternate Death Scene

Thor: Ragnarok told the story of Odin’s death and Hela’s return to claim the throne of Asgard, but a deleted Ragnarok scene featuring an alternate death would have changed both the character’s ending and the general tone of the film itself. Though the theatrical cut gave Odin a peaceful death, the deleted scene shows a homeless Odin stabbed to death by Hela in a nondescript alleyway. It’s a particularly dark ending for one of the MCU’s most powerful gods, but it also would have meant that Thor’s eventual decision to walk away from fighting Hela wouldn’t have been quite so poetic if Odin’s original violent death had remained in the film.

Though the deleted scene was never truly intended to appear in the finished film (per CinemaBlend), a scene was shot for Thor: Ragnarok featuring an unexpected cameo from Michael Rooker as Yondu. In the scene, Rooker appears among a crowd of Asgardians, asking where “Kevin and Lou’s offices” are, seemingly in reference to Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito. The scene not only would have brought Yondu back from the dead but was also incredibly meta, and though it wouldn’t have been at odds with Taika Waititi’s comedic style, its inclusion would have changed far too much in the MCU.

4 Nick Fury Announces Hulk, Spider-Man, & The X-Men

Per Entertainment Weekly, 2008’s Iron Man almost featured a different post-credits scene that would have had a huge impact on the MCU itself. Instead of the simple Avengers tease that remained in the film, the deleted scene saw Nick Fury reference “gamma accidents, bug bites, and mutants” – clear references to Hulk, Spider-Man, and the X-Men. However, given that the rights to both Spider-Man and the X-Men didn’t rest with Marvel at the time (and the characters weren’t destined to appear in the MCU for many years), it’s better that the scene was cut, as it would have undermined Marvel’s plans from the very beginning of the franchise.

3 Zeus Acts As A Father Figure To Thor

A deleted scene from Thor: Love and Thunder would have drastically changed both the overall story of the film and the future of an MCU hero. First reported by People, the scene saw Zeus educate Thor on how to summon and use his thunderbolts, which would have significantly changed the tone of the pair’s relationship. Instead, the finished film actually saw Thor steal Zeus’ thunderbolt, causing the powerful god to task Hercules with killing Thor in Love and Thunder‘s ending. Had the deleted scene remained, both Thor’s story and Hercules’ MCU future would have been affected.

One of the biggest ways that the MCU failed Hulk is the way the franchise allowed his most significant story to occur off-screen, but a deleted scene from Avengers: Infinity War would have cleared this up. The scene showed Bruce Banner and Hulk interacting with one another, reconciling the two personas into one in order to utilize both Banner’s intelligence and Hulk’s strength. Had the scene remained, it not only would have shown Hulk’s most important piece of character development but would have been perfectly logical: coming at one of the MCU’s most crucial moments, it made much more sense to show the emergence of the franchise’s Smart Hulk.

1 Age Of Ultron’s Alternate Ending

Though Avengers: Age of Ultron is often considered the worst of the Infinity Saga’s team-up movies, an alternate ending would have made things much worse for both the film and the franchise. Age of Ultron‘s alternate ending saw a slightly different team of Avengers suiting up: not only would Quicksilver be revealed to have survived multiple bullet wounds, but Captain Marvel was also set to make her MCU debut. Quicksilver’s survival would have massively altered Wanda’s own MCU story while introducing Captain Marvel via a momentary cameo back in Phase 2 would have certainly caused big changes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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 Some of the MCU’s deleted scenes made big changes.  Read More