MCU Deleted Scenes We Wish Would Have Stayed In The Films
If you've never watched deleted scenes from Marvel movies, you're missing out. Jaw-dropping plot twists, hilarious one-liners, and masterful interwoven storytelling are part of what makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe so special. However, many scenes wind up on the cutting room floor.
In the deleted scenes included as extras across the various home video releases of Marvel movies, fans can find shocking, funny, and heartfelt sequences. Norse spirits possessing Thor? Donald Glover confirming Miles Morales exists in the MCU? Audiences would have discovered these revelations and many more in scenes filmmakers shot and later removed from Marvel movies.
Many factors lead to deleting a scene from an early cut of a movie. The movie might be too long, and something's got to go, no matter how well-executed. A story point might change, thus making certain moments contradictory to the plot. Or audiences at test screenings might score a scene as confusing or unfavorable.
The following deleted scenes may have gotten the ax for any number of reasons. The point is that out of context, they're tremendously entertaining — and, at times, even astonishing. Though there's likely a plausible cause for their removal, we wish these scenes could have stayed in their movies all the same.
Donald Glover's Uncle Aaron namedrops Miles Morales
Attempting to trace a trail of dangerous weapons, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) interrogates a man named Aaron Davis (Donald Glover) in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Peter's computer system, Karen, says Aaron's full name out loud, confirming the identity of an important character from "Spider-Man" comic books. Aaron's comic counterpart is an uncle to Miles Morales — another Spider-Man and the protagonist of the animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." Aaron's appearance in the MCU is a huge deal, as it suddenly opens the floodgates for Peter and Miles' stories to collide, maybe even in the same universe. Still, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" stops short of scattering these breadcrumbs any further ... or does it?
In the version of the scene that appears in the completed film, Aaron tells Peter, "I don't want those weapons in this neighborhood. I got a nephew who lives here." This virtually confirms Miles' existence in the MCU, but without saying anything else, Aaron's words still aren't a 100-percent guarantee.
However, one deleted scene tells a different story. Aaron, still stuck in a parking garage after Peter webbed his hands to his car, makes a phone call. "Yeah, sorry, Miles," Aaron says into the phone. "I'm not gonna make it. Yeah, I'm just stuck." Whoa! Even if Miles' confirmed namedrop isn't canon, it's awesome to see the idea was considered — and it gives hope that the MCU may properly introduce Miles in the future.
Sentimental Steve
In "The Avengers," Marvel reacquaints the audience with each hero before bringing the team together for the first time. When the audience first drops in on Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), he's boxing. Originally, filmmakers preceded this moment with over two full minutes of unused material.
The deleted scene begins with Steve watching a World War II-era newsreel that chronicles the patriotic efforts of Captain America. An excited offscreen announcer hails, "When tough times turn tougher, when hope's on the ropes, here's the man to knock the Axis on their backses!" Then, silently and somberly, Steve reads through S.H.I.E.L.D. files detailing the lives of his deceased and retired comrades, whom fans will recognize from "Captain America: The First Avenger." Next, Steve dines at an outdoor restaurant. After the waitress walks away, a man at the table behind Steve speaks up. It's Stan Lee. "Ask for her number, you moron," he says. The scene finally transitions to the boxing moment, where the completed film picks up.
The point? Steve is out of place and alone. The filmmakers must have felt they could communicate this without the melancholy "day in the life" montage. Still, the sequence is illuminating and bridges the narrative from "The First Avenger" with ease. Its removal meant Marvel needed a new cameo for Stan Lee, who instead appears in a present-day news broadcast at the end of the film. "Superheroes in New York?" he scoffs. "Give me a break!"
Young T'Challa and Nakia
The prologue of "Black Panther" takes place in 1992. Director Ryan Coogler opens the film with an altercation between King T'Chaka (Atandwa Kani) and Prince N'Jobu (Sterling K. Brown), also briefly showing a young Killmonger (Seth Carr, filling in for his adult counterpart, Michael B. Jordan) before jumping ahead to present-day.
An earlier version of the opening sequence would have lingered in the '90s a bit longer, showing young versions of T'Challa and Nakia, portrayed by Ashton Tyler and Lidya Jewett. The children crawl through the catacombs of the king's chambers in Wakanda. Discovering them there, King T'Chaka asks to speak to T'Challa and lightly scolds him. The father and son then discuss the responsibilities of being king. "I was forced to make a difficult choice today," T'Chaka says. T'Challa replies, "You told me every choice a king makes is difficult." He then encourages his father, "I'm sure you did what was right for Wakanda. You always do."
After a few more heart-warming lines like this, the camera cuts to adult T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in the same space, mourning his late father. The scene shows the audience how noble T'Challa was from a young age.
More Matt Murdock, more Betty Brant, more Peter Parker banter
Dubbed the "More Fun Stuff" edition and featuring deleted scenes seamlessly inserted into the film, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" returned to theaters in September 2022, nine months after its debut. As its title promises, each removed-but-restored sequence is more fun than the last.
Following his shocking but brief appearance early in the film, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) gets more screen time to show off his lawyer skills in a deleted scene where he legally represents Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). "Happy," Murdock whispers to his client, "stop sweating." Elsewhere, a new post-credits scene showcases three glorious minutes of Midtown High's morning announcements, hosted by Betty Brant (Angourie Rice). She only appears for a few seconds in the 2021 cut of the movie. But in this deleted scene, she awkwardly and hilariously grills Ned (Jacob Batalon) live on close-circuit television, and the audience gets a glimpse into the fall-out of the characters' failed relationship. As if that wasn't great enough, Harry Holland, Tom Holland's brother, stars in another scene as a thief.
Most amazing of all, though, is the extended time the "More Fun Stuff" edition spends with the three Peter Parkers: Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire. An extended sequence stretches out the trio's pensive chat on the Statue of Liberty's scaffolding. Arguably the best quality of "No Way Home" is seeing all three of these actors together. Savoring that historic moment for just a little longer is a real treat.
Hilarious deleted dialogue for Avengers: Endgame
Running three hours, "Avengers: Endgame" is the longest Marvel movie. The film's deleted scenes include many incidental moments with non-essential dialogue. In trimming down a film of this scale, it makes sense that quips would be first on the chopping block, no matter how funny. That being said, part of the joy of any "Avengers" film is seeing so many personalities collide as characters from different movies interact. The quips deleted from "Endgame" are as good as any of the one-liners fans regularly quote from the series.
As the team prepares for the time heist, Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) asks Steve Rogers if he really needed to crash his infamous plane in the '40s. "You couldn't have just jumped out of the plane before you crashed it?" On one hand, excuse me?! On the other hand, he has a point. Later, as the heroes evaluate the 2012 Battle of New York, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) makes fun of the Avengers' finest moment. He calls the Chitauri "the suckiest army in the galaxy" and bursts into laughter when Steve tells him they didn't know they could blow up the Chitauri's mothership. Another golden bit of writing comes when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) erroneously refers to the Guardians of the Galaxy as "the rings of Uranus." Just the best.
Yondu's cameo in Thor: Ragnarok
Michael Rooker reprises his role as Yondu from "Guardians of the Galaxy" in a deleted scene from "Thor: Ragnarok." As Skurge (Karl Urban) prepares to execute an Asgardian, Yondu interrupts to ask, "You know where Kevin and Lou's offices are?" The line references Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, and Louis D'Esposito, executive producer of the MCU films.
Yondu's appearance is bonkers in the best way for a few reasons. For starters, "Thor: Ragnarok" was released before "Avengers: Infinity War," so his appearance would have been a wild crossover before "Guardians" and "Avengers" characters crossed paths. Yet, Yondu being in "Thor: Ragnarok" makes no sense. "Thor: Ragnarok" takes place after "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," in which Yondu dies. Not to mention his dialogue about "Kevin and Lou's offices" comes a tad too close to breaking the fourth wall (at least, that is, until "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law" later introduces Kevin Feige as a robot).
Unlike the other items on this list, this moment isn't a formally deleted scene as much as it is an opportunity seized. "Guardians" director James Gunn is fairly certain that the "Ragnarok" crew shot their execution scene the same day that Gunn and Rooker shot footage for the Halloween version of "Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission — Breakout!," a ride at Disney California Adventure. With the Asgard set in the neighborhood and Rooker already in full costume, why not pop over to say hi as Yondu? This anecdote brings clarity to what otherwise would have been a truly bizarre (but awesome) choice had this moment been scripted and planned for "Ragnarok" all along.
Another side to Wanda and Pietro
A deleted scene from "Avengers: Age of Ultron" reveals that Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) acts as something of a Robin Hood figure to citizens in his home country of Sokovia. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), Pietro's twin, catches him giving away stolen items like medication and soccer balls to those in need. When she confronts him about his potentially problematic philanthropy, he says he's frustrated with their current predicament and needs to give himself something to do. The scene concludes with a boy informing the twins that a man wants to see them in a nearby church. The "man" is Ultron, and from here, the film picks up with the Maximoffs' early encounter with the sentient maniac.
Any chance to expand on the Maximoffs' backstory is time well spent. With "Age of Ultron" being their first MCU appearance (save for a post-credits reveal in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier") and the audience still getting to know their motivations, this scene helps ground their personalities in empathy. It also shows the characters' chemistry as siblings and the actors' chemistry as performers. Although this scene is short, its omission is a shame, especially considering this film is Pietro's only appearance in the MCU (not counting his fake counterpart, played by Evan Peters, in "WandaVision").
A Film by Flash Thompson's iPhone
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" opens with "A Film by Peter Parker," a montage of found footage Peter presumably captured during the events of "Captain America: Civil War." A deleted scene from "Spider-Man: Far From Home," titled "A Film by Flash Thompson's iPhone," implies that filmmakers wanted to keep the bit going for the "Homecoming" sequel.
The deleted sequence is a series of vignettes that Peter's classmate Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) films during their class trip to Europe. Presented vertically, as if on an iPhone, the footage comically shows another side to the events of "Far From Home." Flash talks to his followers (the "flash mob"), basks in his self-appointed awesomeness, and provides biting commentary about his classmates.
Since Flash's film spoils a lot of the movie, it probably wouldn't mirror "Homecoming" as the opening moments from "Far From Home," but it still would have been a fun callback to the first film, regardless of its placement (maybe as a post-credits scene?). Had it stayed in the finished movie, it could have set a precedent to keep the gag going in some way for the capper of the trilogy, "Spider-Man: No Way Home." It's fun to imagine what that could have been like. Andrew Garfield behind the camera, anyone?
Possessed Thor
In "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) visit a cave containing the Water of Sight. Entering the water, Thor receives a vision from "the water's spirits" that he later describes as "a whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life," with the Mind Stone at its center. This knowledge ultimately helps Thor bring Vision to life and defeat Ultron.
In an alternate version of the cave sequence, things go a bit differently. In the deleted take, Thor specifies the spirits as Norns of ancient Norse mythology. He says, "The Norns see what no eye can, what is and what's to come." In this version of the scene, rather than cutting away to flashes of Thor's vision, the action stays in the cave, where the Norns possess Thor. Hemsworth speaks in a demonic-sounding voice as Thor's eyes turn white. Through Thor, the Norns speak of a human sacrifice and rattle off lore about the Infinity Stones, occasionally striking Thor with lightning.
The editors made the right call in revising how Thor gets his motivation to ignite Vision. The original scene in the cave goes on far too long, and it's more confusing than the Infinity Stone exposition in the finished film. But oh, how the memes would have been wonderful had it stayed in the movie! Hemsworth gives his all in an impressive dramatic performance, but perhaps it would have come across as unintentionally comedic (a la the infamous Voldemort/Malfoy hug) if left in the film.
Hank Pym's heyday
A deleted scene in "Ant-Man" shows a bit more of Hank Pym's stint as the titular hero. In the finished film, Pym (Michael Douglas) vaguely explains some of the history behind the suit to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). An earlier version of the same conversation flashes back to show Pym in action as Ant-Man while the scientist reminisces via voiceover. "For decades, I was sent around the world on covert operations," Pym says. "I was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s greatest asset." Filmmakers show the insect-sized Pym taking down bad guys in various global escapades.
The conversation ends on a somber, thoughtful note, with Pym challenging Scott to take on the mantle of Ant-Man. The filmmakers may have felt the action-focused flashbacks wouldn't pivot organically into Pym's earnestness. Even though a vintage S.H.I.E.L.D. prologue opens the film, it's more dramatic than fun, and seeing more of Pym's tenure as the hero would have been neat. It potentially suggests there's much more of Pym's story waiting to be told.
Tony Stark's pet alpaca
"Avengers: Endgame" has enough moving parts as it is — not to mention a huge cast of characters to balance. The last thing the story needs is a quirky new character thrown in for comic relief, but that's almost what we got when the filmmakers introduced audiences to Tony Stark's pet alpaca, Geraldine, in an early version of the movie.
Additional scenes elaborate on how Tony's settled down in a lakehouse with his family, leaving his superhero days behind him. He has a pet alpaca, much to the chagrin of Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow). You just know that alpaca and Tony would have had loads of physical comedy bits together. The scene also reveals Tony and Pepper's daughter, Morgan, cleverly, with Pepper referring to her as "madame secretary" before she appears. It's perfectly plausible that Tony and Pepper could very well host the actual madame secretary at their home, so that expectation followed by the reveal of a little girl (and that the girl is a Stark!) would have been fun.
The Avengers — nearly all of them — talk strategy
The final battle of "Avengers: Endgame" assembles (sorry) the largest gathering of Marvel superheroes ever put on screen. Those who were snapped away during the Blip arrive through portals to aid the rest of the heroes, and they all charge toward Thanos' army. The subsequent battle involves many characters in the same general area, but they're seldom together onscreen. More often, a few of them intermingle for small vignettes.
An early version of the battle brings most of the principal heroes together in the middle of the fight. Yes, it slows down the pace, but it sure is great to have so many incredible performers sharing the same space. A few moments stand out: Quill reunites with Rocket ("My man!"), and Mantis discovers the new Gamora ("She's a zombie?").
In an accompanying audio commentary for this deleted scene, directors Anthony and Joe Russo explain their decision to reshoot this scene and turn it into several smaller moments with the heroes spread out. The original version "seemed contrived and brought the proceedings to a standstill," Joe Russo says. "We reconceived the battle as something that drew momentum with small moments of character." The brothers also reveal a pretty crazy piece of exposition, too. The deleted scene takes place in the mirror dimension, where Doctor Strange (who Quill calls "Doctor Weird") transports the gang to regroup.