Scarlet Witch almost went on a road trip with Rocket Raccoon in Avengers: Endgame

According to the writers, Scarlet Witch almost survived the events of Avengers: Infinity and could have taken a trip with Rocket Raccoon.

The sprawling nature of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame led to various character pairings across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But there was one team-up that didn’t make the cut, and it’s sure to come as a surprise.

Speaking with ScreenRant at San Diego Comic-Con, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely divulged a concept they threw out while developing the stories. Markus explained that they initially planned for Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) to survive the Snap in Avengers: Infinity War. And in Endgame, she was going to take an interdimensional trip with a familiar, and furry, face:

"“There weren’t terribly outrageous ones, there were a lot more boring ones. You can go to the Triskellion; it’s a building. There was an iteration where Wanda was alive, she hadn’t been blipped. Wanda and Rocket drove a car from the Triskellion to Doctor Strange’s house, then used the doorway to go to Kamar Taj and get [the Stone].”"

Markus went on to explain that the plot thread was ultimately scrapped due to their belief that it would have caused a lag in the film’s pacing:

"“It was like ‘really? We’re putting in a cross, inter-state car journey in this fast-paced action movie?’ And then wiser heads prevailed.”"

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Believe it or not, this isn’t the most surprising idea to be discarded from Avengers: Infinity War or Endgame. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo recently revealed their plan to have Thanos throw Captain America’s severed head at the heroes’ feet.

No would have expected to see Wanda and Rocket team-up in Endgame, let alone go on road trip across different corners of the MCU. However, it could have created some entertaining and compelling character moments. Both characters lost key people in their lives following the events of Infinity War, and the two could have bonded over that fact. Additionally, humor could have been mined from Rocket misunderstanding Wanda’s abilities.

Still, the subplot may have slowed the story, and having Wanda perish after Vision’s death in Infinity War added another emotional layer to the “dusting” sequence. Pairing the two may have also prevented Rocket from joining Thor on their humorous, and sentimental, journey to 2013 to retrieve the Reality Stone.