SDCC 2019: Avengers: Endgame directors had a gruesome plan for Captain America

Joe and Anthony Russo reveal that they had a dark idea for Avengers: Endgame that involved Captain America.

By the end of Avengers: Endgame, Captain America gained a second chance at a life in the 1940s. However, according to Joe and Anthony Russo, the hero almost lost something very important before the end of the film.

Speaking with EW at San Diego Comic-Con, the Endgame directors revealed a plot point that was cut from the film. The duo planned for the Thanos of 2014 to slaughter the Avengers. And if that wasn’t shocking enough, the Mad Titan was to arrive in the present with Steve Rogers’ severed head and throw at the heroes’ feet. Anthony Russo said they both held on to this concept for quite some time:

"“We clung to that story line for so long just for that moment of Thanos walking through a portal and dropping Captain America’s severed head.”"

But despite their best efforts, the plot thread didn’t come to be, as the Russos were having trouble cracking the third act. And as Joe explained, these problems were solved once they omitted the idea:

"“We had most of the script working except for the third act, because Anthony and I were clinging to this concept that we wanted Thanos to walk up to the Avengers and throw Captain America’s head on the ground. We couldn’t give up on it, and finally we said, ‘All right, what if we don’t do that, can we find another way into the third act?’ And that’s when it turned into what it is now.”"

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The Russos and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely toyed with different ideas for both Infinity War and Endgame, ranging from romance to character introductions. This, however, is probably the most extreme idea yet.

Seeing Captain America’s head land at the feet of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would have been horrifying for some fans, and it undoubtedly would have added to the drama the film was conveying. And it also does seem like something Thanos would do, as Anthony even mentioned that “Thanos is a rough dude.” At this point, we can’t put anything past the man who wiped out part of the remaining Asgardians and murdered his daughter.

Nevertheless, one can argue that such a sight would have been intense for some viewers, particularly young children. And with Disney making the final decisions on these films, the studio likely wouldn’t have wanted such a scene to be included.