We've known for a while that The Living Tribunal was supposed to make an appearance in
Avengers: Infinity War, but the movie's writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, have now revealed even more details about that scrapped sequence.
According to Markus,
"[Kevin Feige] wanted to make sure we didn’t lose the sort of psychedelic aspect of the ‘Starlin-verse,’ where people travel inside their eyeballs and things like that. And so we stuck the Living Tribunal in the movie." As for how the character would have factored into this adventure, it would have reportedly taken place during that battle on Titan.
"[As] Thanos and Doctor Strange came to blows, Doctor Strange blew Thanos’ mind and sent him through the mindscape," Markus explained before McFeely likened it to the Sorcerer Supreme's trippy visit to the Mutiverse in his solo movie.
"[The] idea was that [Thanos is] sort of zipping through the universe being presented with all of his many, many crimes. So bodies are being thrown at him, he lands and things turn into bodies, hands are grasping at him, and it’s just really kind of grim," McFeely said. "And at the end he gets dumped in front of the Living Tribunal who judges him guilty. It was great."
"When you introduce the idea of the Living Tribunal, it does open up a whole new era. I don’t know if my grandmother would understand that." Markus added: "Also, if that guy exists, why is Thanos a problem? Just have him smack him around a little bit." It was have been amazing to see this but the writer added that the sequence "sucked the air" out of the action-packed sequence.
Needless to say, this would have been a highlight, but it's easy enough to understand why it was cut. Are you disappointed the The Living Tribunal didn't appear in Avengers: Infinity War?
Hit the "View List" button to check out some
unseen images from Avengers: Endgame!
Captain America, with Mjolnir in hand, stands ready for the fight of his life against Thanos here. If
Avengers: Endgame really does mark Chris Evans' final MCU appearance, he went out on a high.
"And I...Am...Iron Man!" This was a jaw-dropping moment in the movie, and this gorgeous image shows the impact wielding the powerful Infinity Stones is having on the very human Tony Stark.
Bro Thor bids farewell to Valkyrie during this scene in the movie and heads off into outer space with the Guardians of the Galaxy. However,
Thor: Love and Thunder will bring him back to Earth!
Steve Rogers faces his past self in this sequence and comes face to face with America's Ass in the process. Cap's past self thought he was facing Loki, and ended up being bested after a Bucky mention.
Marvel Studios' Trinity stands tall here as the last line of defence against the Mad Titan. An earlier version of the movie would have seen Thanos arrive with Captain America's decapitated head.
Despite thinking that he had once again bested Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Thanos was shocked to find that he had been outsmarted by Tony Stark and was wearing a Gauntlet minus the Stones.
Thor wields both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker here but is seemingly once again failing to aim for the head! However, he's powering up and attempting to put an end to the villain yet again in this shot.
One of the most jaw-dropping shots in the entire movie, Captain America watches on as Captain Marvel returns to Earth and brings Thanos' ship crashing to the ground after blowing through it.
Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter share a last dance in this shot from the movie's final scene, and, well, if you didn't have a tear in your eye here, we don't know what to say! What a perfect ending.
Tony Stark looks at the remain of his helmet here after that fateful battle with Thanos on Titan, and gets ready to record what he thought would be his final message to his fiancee, Pepper Potts.
Steve Rogers is going to be missed in the MCU, but there's someone ready to take his place: Sam Wilson. At the end of
Avengers: Endgame, he was given the shield and named the new Cap.
Hawkeye says goodbye to Natasha here in what had to be one of this movie's most shocking moments. Despite Black Widow's demise, the character will return in a solo adventure set in 2017.
The Hulk uses the Infinity Gauntlet to bring everyone back from the dead, but badly injures himself in the process. How this will impact the character moving forward now remains to be seen.
There are some glorious shots from the final battle, but the highlight has to be Steve Rogers standing alone against the Mad Titan and his entire army. That's Captain America through and through.