The Avengers: all deleted scenes (and why they were deleted)

The Avengers of 2012 is one of the most important films in the MCU, and it has a number of additional scenes that did not make the final cut of the film.

the Avengers It was a movie that took a lot of work to do exactly right, which explains why so many scenes were removed from the final release. Released in 2012, Marvel Studios’ first ensemble film remains a fan favorite years later. Thanks to the thrill of seeing all the MCU Phase 1 heroes reunite for the first time, not to mention the fantastic pacing, it has a high replay value. While the movie has been as beloved as it is, there are several sequences that were filmed that fell short of theatrical cut for various reasons.

After going on their respective missions, Nick Fury finally assembles the mightiest heroes on Earth once the threat brought by Loki becomes imminent. Drawn from different settings, each Avenger eventually turned around and joined forces, though not without a few conflicts along the way. In the end, they eliminated the God of Mischief after the intense Battle of New York. Rather than bringing together the MCU’s premier superhero team, the success of the Avengers gave Marvel Studios the license to go ahead with its larger interconnected storytelling goals, as it also poked fun at the existence of Thanos, who would eventually be revealed as the main villain of the Infinity Saga.

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Director Joss Whedon revealed that his original cut for the Avengers it worked for more than three hours. Once edited, it was cut down to 2 hours and 25 minutes, which means that a large part of what they filmed did not make it to the big screen. Here are those deleted scenes and why Marvel Studios chose to leave them on the editing room floor.

Alternate opening scene from Maria Hill

Originally, SHIELD agent Maria Hill would have appeared in the Avengers opening sequence that was intended to give a preview of how the narrative would unfold with shots of destroyed New York, though it doesn’t spoil the actual ending of the film. In it, Hill is questioned about how the Tesseract incident could have been prevented; he insisted that Fury was right to reunite the Avengers. According to Whedon, this scene was removed from the theatrical version because it was already too long, and “The audience didn’t respond as well in the movie as I think it would as a bonus DVD.” The director went on to say that at the time, viewers still didn’t know who Hill was, so it’s strange to start the movie with her.

Captain America learning about the modern world

the Avengers He also had a scene with Captain America learning more about the modern world in his apartment. He learns that Peggy is still alive, but decided not to contact her, while the rest of his old comrades are already dead by then. The scene then shows him walking down the street and then sitting in a cafe with a view of the Stark Tower; A waitress informs him that they have WiFi. A confused Steve is interrupted by Stan Lee, who coaxes him into getting the number from the server. Whedon explained that this long sequence showing how out of place Steve Rogers felt was more or less encapsulated in his time in the gym, furiously banging on a gym bag. It showed their frustrations at being lost, so they edited the long sequence.

The extended conversation of Loki and the other

Another deleted scene saw Loki talking to The Other about the Chitauri that would be loaned to him for his attempt to take over New York. In it, the God of Mischief casts some doubt on the army’s capabilities while The Other takes offense, hinting that by doing this, Loki is also insulting him. The scene is too slow and drags on without adding anything to the story. Thanos’s omen didn’t really matter considering the Avengers‘post-credits scene.

Related: The MCU Already Told Us How Each Avengers Story Should End

The black widow hides from the Hulk

During the Hulk rampage on the Hellicarrier, Black Widow is seen hiding from the green rage monster until SHIELD agents began firing at the creature. Cutting this part of the Avengers It was a no-brainer, as it basically just extends Natasha Romanoff’s encounter with the Hulk for no story purpose. Considering that Marvel Studios had to work to cut Whedon’s three-hour runtime down, it made sense that they were trying to cut meaningless footage.

Extended conversation between Bruce Banner and the security guard

After his rampage on the SHIELD Hellicarrier that endangered the lives of everyone on board, he crashes into a warehouse where he was found by a security guard played by Harry Dean Stanton. This part became the Avengers, but not the subsequent conversation between the couple where the older gentleman, not intimidated by Banner despite seeing him as the Hulk, calmly asked where he was going. Whedon said that this whole sequence was 12 pages long. Given time constraints, it had to be shortened. This is actually one of the few the Avengers deleted scenes that ideally would have stayed in the theatrical cut considering it gives viewers a good idea of ​​just how conflicted Banner is with his relationship with the Hulk.

Captain America saves a family

A segment in the AvengersThe final battle reveals Captain America saving a family who is trapped in his vehicle in the middle of the Battle of New York. A Chituaro chases them in a short car chase. In the end, Steve saves them, and the boy returns Captain America’s shield to him. This deleted scene does not have polished VFX work, so they may have known right away that they would eventually have to cut it. Regardless, since the entire battle showed the Avengers doing their best to defend themselves against the Chitauris, there’s really no need for this pocket moment that also interrupts the pacing of the movie.

Captain America makes brief eye contact with Beth

Along with the previous scene of Captain America in a cafe, another the Avengers The deleted scene sees him reconnect with the waitress who offered him WiFi and was forced by Stan Lee to come over for a possible date. Since that opening sequence was cut, it made sense that their later encounter would get edited as well, since there’s really no context behind it. In hindsight, this was for the best given Steve’s final fate in Avengers Endgame where he finally reunited with Peggy. Trying to set him up with other love interests wouldn’t look good, especially given what happened when they tried to do it in Captain America: Civil War with Sharon Carter.

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