10 Incredible Last Minute Changes That Improved Marvel Movies

Throughout the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other Marvel movies, there have been multiple last-minute changes that made the films in question much better. The movies of the MCU have earned the franchise a reputation as one of cinema’s foremost shared universes, boasting massive success at the box office and consistent popularity across the globe. With stories and characters adapted from the pages of Marvel Comics, the movies often follow well-known narrative avenues, but they’re often far from predictable. In many cases, Marvel movies have actually been subject to interesting last-minute changes.

The reasons behind these late deviations from Marvel’s initial plans or the film in question’s script often vary. Whether they’re the result of an inspired piece of improvisation or a scene being deleted from the movie, the resulting changes to established canon often have major ramifications for the MCU’s movie timeline. Many such instances can be examined, and in hindsight, appear to have been especially wise. Many late changes later went on to enable beloved stories or plot points, and as a result have been heralded as brilliantly creative deviations from the original plans.

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10 Loki’s Cut Age Of Ultron Appearance

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron almost featured Loki during Thor’s vision, but it was cut at the last minute. Although Loki is an incredibly popular character, the film is arguably much better without the scene, as the God of Mischief has nothing at all to do with Age of Ultron’s plot. Featuring him in such a limited capacity would be needlessly confusing, padding out the film’s runtime with a cameo that does nothing to serve the narrative.

9 Quicksilver’s Permanent Death Was Far Better

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Even though Quicksilver’s death felt somewhat cheap and unearned, he was initially intended to survive the events of Age of Ultron, according to director Joss Whedon. Whedon explained that an alternate ending was shot in which Quicksilver survived and was seen joining the ranks of the Avengers at the end of the movie. However, as Quicksilver’s death was a key moment of loss in Wanda’s narrative arc, it turned out far better that the ending was cut at the last minute in favor of a more permanent death.

8 Cutting A Wolverine/Storm Romance

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Director

Bryan Singer

Release Date

May 22, 2014

Studio(s)

20th Century

Writers

Simon Kinberg

Runtime

132minutes

A deleted scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past contained references to and a brief depiction of a romantic relationship between Wolverine and Storm. Though the pairing has happened in the comics, it was actually much better that this was cut from the film at the last minute. Days of Future Past already made huge changes to the franchise’s timeline, and as the love triangle between Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean Grey was never satisfactorily resolved, the continuity of Fox’s X-Men movies was better off without the potentially confusing scene.

7 Peter Parker & Tony Stark’s Awkward Hug Perfectly Established Their Friendship

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Director

Jon Watts

Release Date

July 7, 2017

Studio(s)

Marvel , Sony

Writers

Christopher Ford , John Francis Daley , Jon Watts , Erik Sommers , Jonathan Goldstein , Chris McKenna

Runtime

133 minutes

Many of the greatest MCU moments weren’t in the original script, and their last-minute additions subtly make the movies much better. One such moment came at the beginning of Spider-Man: Homecoming, set in the immediate aftermath of Captain America: Civil War. After returning Peter Parker home, Tony Stark is awkwardly hugged by the teenage hero while opening his door. The moment was improvised by the actors, and it helped to perfectly define their relationship in the MCU: Tony is a reluctant father figure to Peter, who overthinks every interaction he has with his idol.

6 Iron Monger’s Death Set The Tone For The MCU

Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man

Release Date

May 2, 2008

Studio(s)

Marvel Studios

Writers

Matt Holloway , Art Marcum , Hawk Ostby , Mark Fergus

Runtime

126 minutes

Iron Man’s ending was reportedly almost very different, with last-minute changes drastically changing the MCU’s future. Originally, Obadiah Stane was supposedly going to survive the events of the film, allowing for a potential return of the Iron Monger in later movies. However, the bold last-minute decision to make the villain’s death permanent was actually perfect for the MCU, as it made it clear that the franchise wasn’t afraid to make drastic decisions. Having significant characters die in the first movie defined the MCU moving forward, helping to raise the stakes for every subsequent movie.

5 Across The Spider-Verse’s Cliffhanger Ending

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Director

Joaquim Dos Santos , Kemp Powers , Justin K. Thompson

Release Date

June 2, 2023

Writers

Dave Callaham , Phil Lord , Christopher Miller

Runtime

120 Minutes

The somewhat controversial cliffhanger ending of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was actually the result of a last-minute decision to split the movie into two parts. Originally, Across the Spider-Verse was intended to be a much longer, complete narrative, but the decision to end the movie with Miles Morales being menaced by his alternate self turned out to be a sound one. The ending only served to amp up anticipation for the final instalment, and considering Across the Spider-Verse’s glowing reviews, it was clearly the right choice.

4 Iron Man Takes Spider-Man To Space

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

During the events of Avengers: Infinity War, some of Earth’s mightiest heroes find themselves in space, where they eventually encounter and battle Thanos on Titan. Reportedly, the original plan was to have Falcon accompany Iron Man instead of Spider-Man, giving time to an MCU pairing that had not been previously explored in any depth. The last-minute decision to have Spider-Man join his mentor was ultimately an excellent one, as Iron Man’s emotional reaction to losing his protégé turned out to be one of the movie’s most powerful moments.

3 Yondu’s Original Death

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

The ending of Guardians of the Galaxy almost featured the death of Yondu, with his survival changed at the last minute. Originally, Star-Lord reportedly tricked Yondu by giving him a bomb, killing the Ravager in the film’s final moments. The decision to cut the scene was better, as Yondu’s survival allowed for further exploration of his relationship with Peter Quill in the sequel. Considering Yondu’s later sacrifice in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was one of the MCU’s most touching scenes, the decision to cut his original death at the last minute was incredibly wise.

2 “I Am Iron Man”

Iron Man (2008)

2008’s Iron Man shaped the MCU in countless ways, but the film’s best-known moment of improvisation was actually one of its greatest last-minute changes. While filming Tony Stark’s final press conference, Robert Downey Jr. improvised a take in which he simply announced to the world that he was Iron Man, departing from the source material. Doing so in the MCU’s first-ever film helped to set the MCU apart from the comics and made Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark an entirely unique entity, meaning the last-minute change was much better than the original scripted scene.

1 Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Casting

X-Men (2000)

X-Men

Director

Bryan Singer

Release Date

July 14, 2000

Distributor(s)

20th Century

Writers

Tom DeSanto , Bryan Singer , David Hayter

Runtime

104 Minutes

Perhaps the greatest last-minute change ever made to a Marvel movie came during the production of 2000’s X-Men, when the film’s lead actor was switched out shortly before filming began. Originally, the character of Wolverine was going to be played by Dougray Scott, but scheduling issues saw him drop in favor of Hugh Jackman. As Jackman’s decades-long tenure in the role is considered one of the best pieces of casting in movie history, it’s safe to say that the best last-minute change to a Marvel movie actually occurred outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Fox’s X-Men franchise.