Avengers: Endgame is packed with unforgettable moments, but one scene caused a lot of debate among the filmmakers. The fourth Avengers movie wrapped up the MCU’s Infinity Saga by bringing together as many heroes as possible from the first three phases of the franchise.
It also reunited directors Anthony and Joe Russo with their longtime screenwriting partners, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The Russos, along with Markus and McFeely, have worked together on four Marvel movies, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
In an interview with Empire Magazine before the release of their new movie The Electric State, they shared that their creative process relies on “debate-club skills” to figure out the best ideas. This approach has sometimes caused disagreements, even on one of the most popular scenes in Avengers: Endgame.
Advertisement Joe shared that the iconic portals scene at the end of the movie, where all the heroes who were snapped away return for the final battle with Thanos, was first planned to show the camera spinning around Steve Rogers with everyone gathered behind him.
In the final version of the movie, this scene was changed to let each major Marvel hero make their own special entrance through the portals. The Russo brothers worked hard on this idea, fighting for it “for months in the edit room.”
There was probably some debate regarding the most famous moment, I think, of all the Marvel films, which is the portals opening at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The original concept was that the camera rotated around Steve Rogers and everybody was collected behind him.
I remember fighting that one for months in the edit room. I’m not going to say who was one what side, but that was a grinder. I remember Anth and I going, ‘F*** it, we’re going to shoot it during reshoots.’
The Russo brothers eventually got their way, and it paid off because the portals scene became one of the most unforgettable moments in MCU history.
McFeely admitted he was originally against changing the scene, thinking “the first cut worked pretty well.” However, he later realized he was wrong, saying the emotional impact of the new version was more important than just following logic.
Yeah, I’ll go under the bus because I wasn’t alone. I thought the first cut worked pretty well. I thought it was cool. But Joe is right because Joe has ten percent P.T. Barnum, right?
One of the lessons I’ve learned over the course of working with these guys and working with Marvel is emotional-logic trumps logic-logic. It’s not a cop-out. It’s what the movie wants. It’s what your audience wants.
This turned out to be true, as the portals scene in Avengers: Endgame received loud cheers from audiences all around the world. The portals scene wasn’t the only part of Avengers: Endgame that changed during production.
Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan helped shape their final scene with Chris Evans, where Steve Rogers passes the shield to Sam Wilson. The idea of Sam hesitating to accept the shield came from the actors themselves.
The all-female Avengers scene in the final battle almost got cut because some worried it might feel forced. However, producer Trinh Tran fought to keep it, making small adjustments to ensure it stayed in the movie. This created one of the film’s most memorable moments.
Just like the portals scene, many parts of Avengers: Endgame went through a lot of changes before making it to the big screen. The effort paid off, as the movie became one of the highest-grossing films ever and a fan-favorite in the MCU.
You can watch Avengers: Endgame on Disney+.