Yahoo News 8 tweaks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that changed everything
After a whole decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Disney powerhouse has given us three phases of superhero showstoppers and a fourth in the pipeline. While everyone has their favourite MCU movie and their favourite moments, cinephiles will know things could have been very different.
We’ve already covered the famous faces who were nearly cast in the MCU and deleted scenes that would have drastically altered the franchise, but what about those last-minute changes that changed the course of history?
If you’re ready, it’s time to delve a little deeper and discover eight massive changes we could have seen in MCU movies.
1.OsCorp Tower
Gaming fans are well aware the Avengers Tower appeared in this year’s Spider-Man PS4 game, but did you know that OsCorp Tower was originally supposed to feature in the backdrop of Joss Whedon’s The Avengers?
Back in 2012, producers Avi Arad and Matthew Tolmach spoke to Latino Review (via IGN) and revealed that The Avengers was "this close" to including OsCorp Tower.
Peter Parker is currently out for the count thanks to Avengers: Infinity War, but with Tom Holland contracted for two more Spider-Man standalones, there has to be a hint of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in the MCU’s future.
2. Obadiah Stane lives
It turns out that OG MCU villain Obadiah Stane was supposed to die another day and survive the climactic events of Iron Man. Jeff Bridges turned from Tony Stark’s mentor to full-blown supervillain as the bald-headed brute known as Iron Monger.
Speaking about a different fate, Bridges told CinemaBlend: "In the original script they were supposed to open my suit after, and I was gone! But then, no. I read the scene we were shooting, and they said, 'No, you're dead'." Although he was told he could return, a decade of waiting makes it look pretty unlikely now.
3. The return of Abomination
Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk is largely held as the green sheep of the MCU, but that doesn’t mean the Phase 1 movie didn’t plant seeds for the future of the Emerald Giant. Tim Roth had a memorable performance as Emil Blonsky – aka Abomination – and was last seen locked up in a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.
Although the absence of Abomination is now one of the MCU’s biggest cliffhangers, Roth told Crave Online he was tipped for an Avengers 2 return. Before James Spader’s psychotic AI was decided on and Avengers 2 got its full Age of Ultron title, the likes of Abomination and Red Skull were rumoured to take on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
4. Ant-Man in Phase 1
With Phase 1 of the MCU being ruled by Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, there is a sense of justice that the ‘original’ Avengers will all play a part in Avengers: Endgame (with a few newer additions). That being said, a slightly different line-up was originally set to include Ant-Man in the franchise’s formative phase.
Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish wrote their first Ant-Man treatment in 2003 and pitched it to Kevin Feige a year later. The movie was announced in 2006, but a series of rewrites, Ant-Man not being seen as a tentpole hero, and the eventual departure of Wright meant that Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man finally joined the Phase 3 roster.
5. Wasp in Captain America: Civil War
As the yin to Ant-Man’s yang, Evangeline Lilly has swapped Lost for the MCU to play the Wasp. Hope van Dyne got to flutter her wings with top billing in Ant-Man and the Wasp and is set for a part in Avengers: Endgame, but she could have also appeared in Captain America: Civil War.
Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang made a memorable and comical appearance, so it's easy to see how his partner in crime could also have fitted into the ensemble. Thankfully, Lilly has since seen the benefit of sitting out the brutal brawl between some of the franchise’s biggest names and agrees it wasn’t the right time to introduce Wasp.
6. The Defenders in Avengers: Infinity War
While it’s hard to see how Infinity War could have possibly squeezed any more heroes into its bulging case, Anthony Russo told Variety that he nearly included the cast of Netflix’s The Defenders in the supersized superhero movie. It would have finally united the TV and big screen worlds of the MCU but it just wasn't meant to be.
There are various reports that it was Marvel that made the decision to axe the Netflix shows, suggesting that the Defenders will appear at some point in the future – come on, we’re not ready to say goodbye to Daredevil yet.
7. Nick Fury as Spider-Man’s mentor
Spider-Man: Homecoming saw Tom Holland swing into action for his first MCU solo film and started the father-son relationship that we never knew we needed between Peter Parker and Tony Stark. Interestingly, director Jon Watts told io9 that Nick Fury was supposed to usher Spider-Man into being a superhero like he did with Iron Man in Phase 1.
Instead, audiences had to wait for that Infinity War post-credits scene to see Samuel L Jackson and his infamous eyepatch. Everything has come full circle and it looks like Fury will become the wall-crawling hero’s new mentor in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
8. Maya Hansen’s big Iron Man 3 twist
Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 may have been a box-office behemoth, but that didn’t stop the threequel being one of the franchise’s most criticised entries. From that big Mandarin twist to Guy Pearce’s lacklustre Aldrich Killian, the villains just didn’t click in Iron Man 3.
In an alternate version of the script, Rebecca Hall’s Maya Hansen was supposed to be the big bad. After the movie’s release, Hall spoke to Toronto Sun about her reduced role and called out sexist decisions at the top. It would have meant that Hall was the MCU’s first big female villain, long before Cate Blanchett was bringing Asgard to its knees in Thor: Ragnarok.
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