31 Abandoned Plot Ideas That Would Have Rendered The MCU Completely Different If They Pushed Through

The MCU franchise is absolutely remarkable, combining numerous plots across different films.

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• Published in Film & TV
• September 3, 2022

Some film ideas never make it off the ground, while others go on and make the movies huge box office successes. So what separates the wheat from the chaff?

In some cases, the studio doesn't believe in the concept. When a studio is approached with a new film idea, they have to decide whether or not they believe in the concept.

If they don't think it will be a hit with audiences, then they're unlikely to greenlight the project. The production team also won't push through if the idea is too risky.

Hollywood is a risk-averse industry, so anything that seems like a gamble is likely to be shelved. This is especially true for original concepts, which can be hard to market.

Timing is everything, even for movies. Remember that films can take years to make.

So by the time they're released, they might not be relevant anymore. This can happen for a number of reasons — there's been a change in public taste or a similar film has already been released.

The MCU is known for its massive success, but not every idea that goes into its development ends up working out. In fact, a lot of great ideas are abandoned along the way.

Here are just a few of the most interesting ones that didn't make it into the final product.

Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane) initially survived in Iron Man.

When Jeff Bridges was first cast in the part, the script, according to the actor, had someone opening Iron Monger's suit to find it empty after his defeat.

However, no one opened his suit when it was time to film that sequence.

Marvel Studios intended to make Stane the secondary villain after the Mandarin.

At the conclusion of Iron Man, Tony Stark didn't admit that he was the movie's superhero until Robert Downey Jr. revised his final line.

Emily Blunt heartbrokenly passed the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2 even though she was the first choice of director Jon Favreau.

John Krasinski tried out for the part of Captain America before Chris Evans was given the job.

Chris Evans was close to not taking the role of Captain America.

The actor was going through some stuff, including anxiety, a breakup, and the premiere of his movie. He turned down the screen test offered by Marvel.

But after talking to family, therapists, and Robert Downey Jr., Marvel offered him the role and he finally accepted it.

Jensen Ackles, whom is known for playing Supernatural's Dean Winchester was among the ones who tried for Captain America.

He didn't land the part but Marvel was impressed, they offered him the role of Hawkeye. The actor had to refuse the offer because of his commitment to his current role at the time.

Scarlett Johansson's role in the Avengers was substituted by the Wasp in one draft of the script because Joss Whedon didn't think they can cast her in the film.

Ezekiel Stane (Obadiah Stane's son) was a prominent antagonist in an early version of the screenplay of The Avengers.

In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark's mom Maria was portrayed by an unnamed actress in a short portion of a flashback scene, but it was ultimately cut out.

Hope Davis played the role of this character in Captain America: Civil War.

Patty Jenkins was supposed to be the director of Thor: The Dark World.

She left the project in the end stating this:

They wanted to do a story that I thought was not going to succeed, and I knew it couldn’t be me.

Hela was initially Thor: The Dark World's antagonist.

Loki's death in Thor: The Dark World was planned to be permanent.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier's opening was supposed to be a flashback of a big battle during WW2.

It was cut two months before the start of the shooting.

There was a planned scene in Winter Soldier wherein Hawkeye is following Captain America after letting him know that he was a S.H.I.E.L.D fugitive.

In the middle of their fight, Hawkeye was supposed to reveal that a tracker was in his suit. But because of scheduling conflicts, they couldn't push it through.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, and Glenn Howerton were considered for the role of Star-Lord.

Nebula was initially meant to die in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, according to Karen Gillan.

Due to worries that he would appear "cartoony," Rocket Raccoon was left out of the Guardians of the Galaxy's early drafts.

Captain Marvel made an appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron's early drafts.

However, Feige felt that her inclusion as a fully developed superhero without a narrative or character development would have "done that character a disservice."

Joss Whedon decided to leave out a great Hulk moment in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

He thought that he couldn't justify it despite being a great gag.

Whedon wanted Vision to have a noticeable penis.

But when he saw the concept art showing the noticeable genetalia, he changed his mind.

Initially, Iron Man had a small part in Captain America: Civil War.

However, Robert Downey Jr. wanted a bigger role within the plot, which drew the ire of Marvel entertainment chairman, Ike Perlmutter. He instructed the screenwriters to completely delete Iron Man from the script.

But discussions between Feige and Downey Jr.'s reps persisted until they reached a deal that satisfied the actor enough for him to agree.

Benedict Cumberbatch only agreed to the role of Doctor Strange when Marvel decided to reschedule the filming to allow him to accommodate his commitments at the time.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 character of Ego was declined by Matthew McConaughey, deciding he would rather play in The Dark Tower.

James Gunn wanted a David Bowie cameo, but the singer's illness made it impossible.

James Gunn instantly rejected a meta joke that Chris Pratt had proposed in which Star-Lord would meet Ego and identify him as Kurt Russell.

Jon Watts, the Spider-Man: Homecoming co-writer and director, contemplated making Nick Fury the mentor of Peter Parker instead of Tony Stark.

He didn't push through with the idea in the end.

In Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi conceptualized a flashback to Loki and Thor's youth in the 1980s.

The idea was abandoned because it lost its purpose as the rest of the movie progressed and because it concerned Thor and Valkyrie, which would have complicated other plot points.

Nate Moore, the executive producer of Black Panther, made an effort to save T'Challa from the snap of Thanos.

Stephen McFeely contemplated not using The Snap until the conclusion of Endgame's first act.

In one draft of the Endgame script, it was Hawkeye who sacrificed his life in order to obtain the Soul Stone in Vormir.

These are just some ideas that the production team had to scrap in favor of concepts that will suit the story and satisfy most MCU fans.

The MCU is such a vast landscape of interwoven stories that are meant to be consistent and cohesive. So it isn't surprising that some plans never reached the final cut.

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