While reshoots remain cause for concern with many studios and projects, Marvel Studios has made it the norm for them to essentially be part of the production process. Many of their movies have been reshaped during post and that's led to a lot of scrapped sequences and ideas.
In this feature, we're picking 8 deleted scenes from the MCU's storied history and making a case for why they should have never been left on the cutting room floor.
Some would have completely changed the tone of our favourite MCU movies, while others were just good fun or a missed opportunity to set the stage for stories that still haven't been told. Ultimately, though, they'd have all had the potential to change this franchise for the better...or perhaps not.
We'll let you decide, but you can check out each of these deleted scenes by clicking the "Next" button below!
8. S.W.O.R.D.
When Thor was released in 2011, Marvel Studios was still teasing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s influence throughout the MCU. However, in this alternate ending, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and Erik Selvig were going to be shown working alongside them to track the Asgardian down.
Listen closely and you'll hear the latter mention S.W.O.R.D., suggesting the group we didn't encounter until WandaVision was once set to appear much sooner. Elsewhere in the scene, we see Jane working on opening a wormhole to Asgard, presumably meaning she'd be responsible for Thor's return.
For whatever reason, this changed (likely due to Joss Whedon's plans for The Avengers) and Thor and Jane's relationship was put on hold until Thor: The Dark World. Overall, the scene feels like a more effective way to bring the God of Thunder back than Odin using vague magic to send his son to Midgard!
7. Bucky Wields The Shield
Had Marvel Studios followed the comic books, Bucky Barnes would have become the new Captain America after Steve Rogers' story ended in Avengers: Endgame.
Instead, the decision was made to jump straight to Sam Wilson wielding the shield, though The Falcon and The Winter Soldier did a good job of making a case for why the former HYDRA assassin shouldn't pick up where his best friend left off. Perhaps that's why this scene was removed from Captain America: Civil War.
In that, Bucky uses Cap's shield to slow down War Machine and makes it clear he'd like his own. Clearly a tease for him eventually inheriting the mantle, we can't help but wish Marvel Studios had considered heading down that route in the MCU. If nothing else, seeing more of these two fighting side-by-side would've been welcomed.
6. Zola Escapes
This sequence was never actually shot but had the potential to lay the groundwork for a very different Captain America 3. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers and Black Widow visit Camp Lehigh and learn Arnim Zola uploaded his consciousness into a computer.
After a tense exchange, "he" self-destructs in a bid to kill the heroes and that's the end of that. However, a number of alternate ideas were considered, including him escaping onto the internet and actually rising from the ground and making his escape as the formidable robot we know from the comic books.
Ultimately, that might have been too goofy for this grounded sequel and the idea was at least revisited in What If...? Still, we'd argue that Marvel Studios hasn't fully taken advantage of Captain America's classic rogues gallery.
5. The Hulk Finds Captain America In The Ice
We're heading back to the MCU's earliest days for this one and, boy, how different things could have been. When The Incredible Hulk was released, the idea was for The Avengers to assemble in an effort to take down the Jade Giant (when Joss Whedon boarded the 2012 movie, the focus shifted to Loki).
In an alternate opening for the 2008 reboot, Bruce Banner was going to travel to the Arctic Circle in an effort to take his own life. The Hulk wouldn't allow it, though, and a glacier crumbled to pieces as he raged.
It's hard to see, but the idea here was to include a nod to Captain America, with the hero's silhouette and shield spotted in the ice. Yes, thanks to The Hulk, the world was set to discover the missing Steve Rogers, a cool idea even if it is a tad convoluted.
4. Loki vs. Throg
The most recent deleted scene on this list, this fun sequence was cut from Loki's first season and has only recently seen the light of day thanks to the show's long-awaited Blu-ray release.
Reliving the God of Mishief's greatest failures, we'd have learned that Loki attempted to appoint himself King of Asgard after his brother, Thor, vanished. In reality, he'd turned the God of Thunder into the Frog of Thunder, and Chris Hemsworth reprises his role here to take his revenge.
It's a wonderful nod to the comics and a clever way of expanding on a throwaway line in Thor: Ragnarok. It appears Marvel Studios cut this for being too comedic, but we may never forgive them for robbing us of seeing Throg in action.
3. Uncle Aaron Calls Miles Morales
Donald Glover's cameo in Spider-Man: Homecoming was undeniably memorable and the mere mention of Aaron Davis having a nephew was enough for some fans to lose their minds.
That was, of course, a reference to Miles Morales. Peter Parker's fellow Spider-Man still hasn't appeared in live-action but this deleted scene takes us one step closer to that when Aaron calls his nephew up and actually refers to him by name. Ultimately, this may have been too much, too soon.
Still, we're hoping Glover's appearance in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as a live-action Prowler means those rumours about him and Miles appearing in Spider-Man 4 are correct. Miles potentially being blipped for five years has definitely bought the MCU some time, anyway.
2. Captain Marvel's Early Debut
Captain Marvel still doesn't quite fit into the MCU after an origin story set in the 1990s established her as having been a hero for decades...just not on Earth. Even now, she's still out there in the cosmos, playing a minor role in the last two Avengers movies and no role at all in Secret Invasion.
Had Joss Whedon got his way, we'd have met Carol Danvers in the closing moments of Avengers: Age of Ultron. As Captain America and Black Widow assemble their new team, the idea was for her to be a surprise addition (a blonde stand-in was used on set because the hero hadn't been cast at this point).
Kevin Feige nixed the idea because he didn't think it was a good idea to just throw her into the mix with no explanation but it's hard to escape the feeling this had the makings of a far better introduction to the Captain.
1. An Even Bigger MCU
There are arguments for and against this one, but man, we'd have loved to be sitting in the theater for this version of Iron Man's post-credits scene back in 2008.
Once again confronting Tony Stark in his penthouse, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury was going to directly reference Spider-Man and the X-Men, bringing Peter Parker and that mutant team into the MCU from the star. Can you even begin to imagine what those crossovers would have looked like?
Alas, neither can we. Sony and Fox would have never gone for it and, at this point, the MCU would have been crossing over with franchises on their last legs (Spider-Man 3 had just been released and the X-Men had fallen into Brett Ratner's grubby hands). What might have been, though...