Joe and Anthony Russo, the director brothers of Avengers: Endgame revealed that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige originally considered killing off Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) in the 2019 film.
In 2018, because of the dark tone in which it ended Avengers: Infinity War, there were months of speculation about which of the superheroes would die in the sequel. The Russos explained on the podcast Happy Sad Confused who faced the direction of the final battle of Avengers: Endgame knowing that the immense expectations on the part of millions and millions of viewers. Especially considering that, especially the fans, they had and have a giant emotional investment in many of the Marvel characters.
“We knew that, coming from Avengers: Infinity War, we put the audience in a position of accepting that none of the characters were really safe. Anyone could die. And that sparked rumors about who would survive and who wouldn’t.”
“In fact, at one point, Kevin Feige brought up the idea of killing all of the original Avengers for Avengers: Endgame. But we felt it was too aggressive and audiences wouldn’t be able to process it. Still, by choosing one or two characters to make the sacrifice of their own life, throughout the film, it allows you to pause and have an emotional catharsis. Continue and then incite even more emotional release in the audience.”
The idea, according to Anthony Russo, was proposed early in pre-production on Avengers: Endgame and it never made it into the script, he explained. Ultimately, the film saw the deaths of two of the original Avengers—Tony Stark/Iron Man and Natasha Romanoff/Scarlet Witch. In addition to the “retirement” of a third party, Steve Rogers / Captain America.
If Kevin Feige had had his way, movies like Thor: Love and Thunder or series for Disney+, such as Hawk Eye.
The death of Tony Stark, although planned years before the premiere or filming of Avengers: Endgame, presented resistance from within Marvel. When Jon Favreau (director of Hombre de Hierro Y Iron Man 2) found out, Joe Russo had to calm him down. “You can’t do this, you’re going to devastate people. You don’t want them to walk out of the theater and into traffic,” said the filmmaker, dismayed by the decision.
Avengers: Endgame Y Avengers: Infinity War They premiered in 2019 and 2018 respectively. Both are available on Disney+.