Running for a whopping 181 minutes, it’s tough to believe that Avengers: Endgame, Marvel’s thrilling conclusion to Phase Three of the MCU, had any deleted scenes at all. But every film has footage left on the cutting room floor and the Infinity War sequel was no different. And while most of what was removed is stuff that probably would’ve just been padding and unnecessary, there’s one nixed scene that fans have been puzzled by.
Surely you know the one that we’re talking about, but if not, it’s that moment that comes right after Tony Stark’s tragic sacrifice, and it makes it even harder to swallow. While the film itself does show us a few of the heroes mourning Iron Man on the battlefield after his snap, it cuts out before we can see how the rest of the gang reacts. The deleted scene, in question, however, shows us exactly that, as we see Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and many more all kneeling in honor of their fallen friend, making for an emotional, beautiful sequence.
So, why was it cut? Well, co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo recently did a Reddit AMA where they discussed the moment and why it ultimately failed to make it into the version of the film we saw in theaters.
“We found the Avengers kneeling scene incredibly emotional as well, but when played in the run of the film, it felt incredibly similar to the moment when all of the heroes stood on the shore at Tony’s funeral, paying their respects to him outside his home. The two scenes, when in the film together, seemed to fight one another, and created a repetitious ending.”
Fair enough. The directors certainly have a point here, as keeping the scene in the movie might’ve been a bit too much and could’ve ended up feeling repetitive. Still, it’s hard to not be upset that it was cut as it’s such a powerful and touching moment and one that’s really resonated with fans ever since it made its way online.
It seems it just wasn’t meant to be though and unfortunately, the scene was cut from the theatrical version of Avengers: Endgame. Thankfully, though, it’s now available on the web and will soon be yours to view in glorious HD from the comfort of your own home as well, as it’ll be one of several deleted scenes included on the upcoming Blu-ray, which hits store shelves on August 13th.
