The Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t have director’s cuts of its movies, but there are several deleted scenes that made it to the home video releases, so fans can see what was left on the cutting room floor. This has happened since the start of the MCU, and in some cases, it is for the better, with directors believing that the specific scenes don’t move the story forward. However, there are other cases where Marvel steps in and axes a specific scene, or in some cases, where a scene is cut for time, but it was one that would have further enhanced an already good story in the movies.
From a scene that would have put a magnifying glass on the “Demon in a Battle” storyline from the comics to one that would have sold more toys than almost any other, here is a look at seven MCU scenes we wish were still canon.
7) Smart Hulk Busts Out of Hulkbuster Suit
The Hulk was in the promotional material for Avengers: Infinity War, but once the movie hit theaters, none of the scenes he appeared in during the trailers were in the movie. Other than the opening, where Thanos beat him almost to death, Hulk never appeared again in the movie, other than in scenes where he was talking to Bruce Banner in his mind. Hulk refused to come out and fight, and Banner had to use a Hulkbuster suit to join in the battle.
However, there was a deleted scene from Avengers: Infinity War where Hulk burst out of the Hulkbuster armor in the middle of the Battle of Wakanda. This was the scene where Smart Hulk first appeared with Banner in charge, and Hulk finally came out to fight. However, the writers of the movie, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, said the scene was cut because it gave Hulk a big return when the movie needed to have the heroes reach their lowest point. However, seeing Hulk burst out of the suit with Banner in control is a missing moment that made his reappearance in Avengers: Endgame so shocking.
6) Tony Stark Drunk on the Plane
Iron Man 2 was one of the first MCU movies to receive lackluster reviews. The main plot saw Stark battling a rival weapons dealer, Justin Hammer, as well as one of Iron Man’s most iconic villains, Whiplash. It all ended with Iron Man and War Machine fighting rogue suits of armor controlled by AI and Whiplash, which finished off the action. However, the movie also had a personal story of Stark dealing with alcoholism, an homage to the “Demon in a Bottle” storyline in the comics.
There was one moment that homaged this story, as a drunk Stark wore the Iron Man armor and had James Rhodes confront him about it. However, there was another scene that was left out of the movie at the start, where Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are on a private jet, and Stark is hungover and unwell from palladium poisoning. It was the big moment where the movie showed Tony had a problem, but Jon Favreau cut it to speed up the pacing rather than allow it to show the hero’s self-destructive spiral.
5) Thanos Reminds Gamora of Their Past
Thanos had a complicated relationship with Gamora, a woman he took in as a child when he arrived on her planet and slaughtered most of her species. This was a tough one because Gamora chose to betray the man who raised her, but always felt conflicted about which side she was really on. There was a deleted scene in Avengers: Infinity War that added even more conflict to their relationship.
In a deleted scene titled “A Father’s Choice,” Gamora lies to Thanos about where the Soul Stone is. As a result, Thanos uses the Reality Stone to show Gamora a vision of her childhood, including a young Gamora in armor inspired by his own design, performing tasks for him. This vision showed Gamora as a willing participant who wanted to please her father, but she pushed back that she was a prisoner to him. It showed the complicated relationship Thanos and Gamora shared.
4) Tony Stark Forgives Bucky
The main conflict in Captain America: Civil War saw Captain America and Iron Man going to war over the Sokovia Accords. However, there was a secondary conflict, with Cap trying to save Bucky from Iron Man, especially after Tony learned that Bucky killed Howard and Maria Stark while brainwashed by Hydra. Iron Man tried to kill Bucky, even though he knew he was brainwashed when he did it, and Cap had to protect his friend.
There was a scene in Avengers: Endgame that was cut for pacing issues that really needed to be kept in some form. This scene took place during the climactic Battle of Earth when Doctor Strange uses the Mirror Dimension to stall Thanos. Bucky saves Iron Man from Outriders, and, in a quiet moment, Iron Man forgives the Winter Soldier for what happened to his family. This was a scene that would have provided closure for the events of Captain America: Civil War.
3) Loki’s Coronation
There was a deleted scene from Thor: The Dark World that should never have been cut because it gave Loki an important moment that has been a huge part of his story throughout his entire run in the MCU. This was the grand coronation in the Asgardian throne room. The first Thor movie showed Loki as the neglected son of Odin, someone who had high aspirations but was always made to feel lesser. He only wanted acceptance, and this scene gave him that.
Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and a cheering crowd bowed to Loki as the new king, and he even wore a Thor-style red cape and held Mjolnir. This scene, above all, showed that Loki wanted to be just like his brother, something he never achieved. The sad part was that this was an illusion, interrupted by Frigga, and it was a perfect look at Loki’s innermost thoughts and dreams. This should have been one of Loki’s most important scenes rather than a deleted scene.
2) Thor Is Possessed at the Norm Cave
There was a lot going on in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Marvel kept pushing Joss Whedon to cut things down. As a result, one of the things that the movie lost was Thor’s journey to the Norn Cave. Each of the main Avengers had to find their purpose at this point in the movie, with Captain America remembering his lost date with Peggy Carter and Iron Man reliving his PTSD and fear of letting the world down. However, while Thor saw Ragnarok, he was also possessed by the Norn in a deleted scene.
In the deleted scene, the Norn speaks through Thor to Selvig to reveal information about the six Infinity Stones, including the Mind Stone that Ultron possessed. This was a great scene, but Whedon said that during test screenings, the audience didn’t react well to it. This scene was important to make Thor’s cave scenes make more sense and set the table for what was to come, but as it is, Thor ended up the weakest of the three main heroes during this part of the movie, where he should have been the most important.
1) Tony Stark Sees Morgan in Soul World
The final moments in Avengers: Endgame started with Tony Stark dying, and Pepper Potts telling him it was okay to go. Everyone was devastated, especially Peter Parker, and then Tony’s funeral capped things off for the character. However, there was one last scene that ended up deleted and should have been in the movie to let Tony Stark have one last goodbye to the audience who followed him for a decade.
This deleted scene sees Tony die, and then he ends up in the orange Soul Stone world, where he meets a teenage version of his daughter, Morgan Stark (Katherine Langford). She lets him know that she grew up happy and that she is proud of him and loves him. She then says their iconic line, “I love you 3000,” before the scene ends, giving Tony his happy moment in death. Keeping this scene would have added a literal farewell to the hero that fans grew to love so much.
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