Marvel Studios has a bit of a reputation for surprising fans. More often than not, that's a positive thing, as it can lead to some truly remarkable moments that live on for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in history. "I am Iron Man", "Avengers Assemble", Wanda Maximoff becoming the Scarlet Witch; all legendary moments that made us all feel goosebumps. However, there are also some surprises we would prefer didn't happen.
From Tony Stark's emotional but effective death in 2019's Avengers: Endgame to Maria Hill's critically-reviled death in 2023's Secret Invasion, Marvel is known for pulling off some shockers when it wants to. It's also known for changing things up, as multiple scripts remain in flux for a long time - even when the project is filming.
Interestingly, it has now been revealed that a recent MCU movie deviated from plans that would have featured another surprising death.
Captain America: Brave New World would have originally killed off The Leader
As reported by The Direct, Samuel Sterns, a.k.a. The Leader, was originally supposed to die in Captain America: Brave New World. The outlet reveals that colorist Sam Michlap shared a look at the film's original color script on LinkedIn, which features multiple cut scenes from the movie. One of those is labelled "Sterns Dies" and it seemingly takes place on the lawn of the White House, shortly after the villain engineered President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross' transformation into the Red Hulk.
Sterns turned out to be the real villain of the movie, pulling the strings behind the scenes when he threatened to reveal the president's nefarious abuse of power over the years - particularly when it came to having him use his enhanced abilities / big brain on the false promise that he would move him from his confinement one day. Out of revenge, Sterns produced gamma pills that eventually resulted in him transforming into the large, red brute that destroyed much of the White House in the film's climax as he battled Captain America.
Portrayed by Tim Blake Nelson, the Leader is one of the longest-standing villains in the franchise as he made his MCU debut all the way back in The Incredible Hulk in 2008. His return in Brave New World was considered a surprise as Marvel had mostly ignored that movie in the years since its release. But it was nice to see them continue that hanging plot thread all these years later, even if the execution of the movie left something to be desired for some audiences.
The idea that the MCU franchise brought back such a classic villain only to kill him off seems a little underwhelming, so this is a change that was likely for the better. After all, Sterns underwent a number of changes throughout production of the movie, as the decision was made at some point to change his appearance too - opting for a less comic-accurate and more physically-unnerving look. The response was mixed, as fans weren't too thrilled about the more gimmicky look.
As for why Sterns' death was changed, it's quite possible that it had something to do with the post-credits scene. One of the multiple criticisms of recent MCU movies has been their lack of interconnectedness, particularly as the Multiverse Saga prepares to reach its Avengers-heavy conclusion. The post-credits scene for Brave New World, which involved The Leader predicting the collision of universes, was seen by many as a last-minute attempt from Marvel to reconnect Brave New World to the rest of the franchise, ultimately making it far more important to the Multiverse Saga.
Now, that scene couldn't have happened had the film went through with its initial plan to kill the character off. It might also explain his relatively underwhelming arrest scene (as he had to be imprisoned in The Raft in order to deliver the multiversal monologue in the post-credits scene).
If the scene was a reshoot, it lines up with fellow MCU movies to release this year in directly setting up Avengers: Doomsday. Thunderbolts* teased the arrival of the Fantastic Four, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps featured our first look at Doctor Doom. That said, as both of those post-credits scenes came directly from the set of Avengers: Doomsday (which was filming during the time of both releases), they were very well-received, whereas Brave New World's was criticized for feeling a little too clearly like a reshoot.
Nevertheless, now that we know The Leader is still alive, here's hoping that he actually gets that showdown with the Hulk someday.