Whether it is deleted scenes or earlier drafts, it is pretty rare that everything on the written page of a script gets into the final cut of the film. Avengers: Endgame is no exception.
After years of keeping the script hidden under lock and key and then not even giving the entire script to castmembers (Robert Downey, Jr. excepted), Marvel finally released one version of the script for Academy voters to take a look at. Here are a few things we learned from reading it ourselves.
UPDATE (January 15, 2020): An earlier version of this list included a cameo of the iron patriot helmet. It has since been removed.
An Earlier Peek At An Audi
As time goes on and the films get bigger and bigger in budget, it is inevitable that product placement in blockbuster movies becomes a thing. The Mouse House can divvy out whatever budget it wants to, but it definitely isn’t above some tie-ins either.
Right before we find Ant-Man arriving in the post-snap world, the script initially called for some shots that would give a greater sense of the devastation laid upon by Thanos. This came in several forms, but also specifically the crushing of an Audi. Perhaps McFeely and Markus just had a hankering for watching an Audi get smashed to smithereens. Whatever the reason, it is interesting that the specific model of the car was mentioned.
Ant-Man’s Failed Pic Attempt
One of the not-so-well-kept secrets of the Avengers: Endgame plot was that Bruce Banner and the Hulk would be completely merged into what the script calls “Smart Hulk.” It wasn’t too surprising for some of us when we first see him onscreen, reveling in his newfound fame with some kids.
In the film, we see Ant-Man try to get some of that sweet fame as well, only to be met with weird stares. This moment is actually not in the script. Whether it was improvised or simply abandoned from the draft sent to Academy voters, it is an interesting omission.
Smart Hulk & Bill Nye Are BFFs
When the gang begins to start testing time travel possibilities with Ant-Man, everyone is a little apprehensive. Yes, they do have Smart Hulk on their side, but there are still a lot of question marks in everyone’s heads as to how it will work out.
To try and put everyone’s minds at ease, Smart Hulk offers several highlights from his vita. The most surprising is that he and Bill Nye are good buddies! Does this mean that there will eventually be a Smart Hulk/Bill Nye Disney+ spinoff?! Probably not, given that Nye is currently in the throws of several lawsuits with Disney, but one can dream, right?
Tony Thanks Rocket
Tony Stark has more than his fair share of ego. He usually assumes that he is the smartest guy in the room and a lot of the time he’s probably right. But when it comes to being in the room with multiple Avengers, the lines get a little blurrier.
Outside of AI, Tony’s not one to give a genuine compliment or thank you. In one scene from the script, he actually thanks Rocket after he fixes some part of the new quantum tunnel. Rocket replies, “Get used to saying [thank you].” It’s a brief moment, but one that we perhaps wouldn’t have seen in earlier Iron Man movies.
Rare Access To The Aether
As our heroes gather to make a gameplan to get the stones back, they review what they know about the Infinity Stones. When Thor gets up to speak, he’s a bit distracted and struggles to provide much useful information about the Reality Stone.
One part of Thor’s line about the Reality Stone that’s left out of the film is that the Reality Stone could only be accessed every 5,000 years based upon its location. Not game-changing information per se, but it is interesting how difficult it was for Thor and Jane to access the Aether in Thor: The Dark World.
Rocket Contemplated Killing Thor
As part of the Avengers’ literal endgame, they go off in teams of two and three to find all the Infinity Stones. When Thor and Rocket arrive in Asgard during the events of Thor: The Dark World, Rocket struggles to get Thor on board as he is still processing a lot of emotions. Thor suddenly disappears, leaving Rocket in the lurch.
A line from the script that didn’t make it into the film has Rocket say, upon Thor’s disappearance, “I can kill him, and say the Elves did it.” Of course, Rocket wouldn’t actually kill Thor, but it is a funny bit we wish we could have seen in the final cut.
Present Day Cap Vs. 2012 Cap
Through a series of mishaps in the past, present-day Captain America ends up facing 2012 Captain America. One part of this battle not in the script that did make it in the film is when the 2012 Cap gets the present-day Cap in a chokehold, only to get out by telling the other Cap, “Bucky is alive!”
This allows present-day Cap to get out of the chokehold and freeze 2012 Cap with Loki’s scepter. The script simply has the scepter come into present-day Cap’s hands without this exchange of words.
Hawkeye Is Just As Confused As The Rest Of Us
When Thanos attacks the Avengers’ base towards the end of the film, he also has 2014 Gamora and Nebula with him, who eventually fights present-day Nebula. The Nebulas go back and forth, the present-day version trying to reconcile with the 2014 version.
Eventually, present-day Nebula shoots 2014 Nebula and debilitates her. What the script indicates that the film leaves out is that “Clint picks up the gauntlet, very confused,” followed by Clint saying “I’m not even gonna ask.” We feel you, Clint. All this time travel continuity makes our heads hurt.
Thor Knows Valkyrie Is A Better Leader Than Him
After our heroes win the day and Thanos is defeated, we get to see Thor and Valkyrie have one last chat. In the film, Thor tells Valkyrie it is her time to lead. One part of Thor’s line in the script that is left out in the version that made it to cinemas is Thor’s admission that Valkyrie is “a far better king than I could ever be.”
It is surprising this didn’t make the final cut of the film as it doesn’t diminish the journey Thor or Valkyrie has had up to this point, nor does it derail any future possibilities that Thor: Love and Thunder may hold.
