Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” is chock full of incredible, cheerworthy moments. Just look at YouTube reaction videos from screenings and you’ll hear fans lose their minds when Captain America picks up Thor’s hammer or when the heroes all band together in the “Avengers Assemble” scene. It’s clear to anyone watching the film, the filmmakers were aware that there needed to be “moments” during the final battle for the fate of the universe. And one of those moments didn’t land as well as they anticipated, but according to a new behind-the-scenes story, it could have been a lot worse.
In the new book, “The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe” (via CBM), one of the producers of “Avengers: Endgame,” Trinh Tran, spoke about the conspicuous scene in the film where all of the major female characters from the MCU team up together. The scene takes place during the final battle and is a not-so-subtle “girl power” moment where the female superheroes show just how powerful they are working together. It is meant to be a triumphant scene that shows just how far female representation has come in the MCU after a decade.
But for many, the scene falls flat as it feels a bit too on-the-nose. That’s a concern that was shared by the folks making the film, when they started to screen-test ‘Endgame’ and watched audiences react.
“When we started screen-testing it, there was a little concern for ‘Does it come off [as] pandering?’ Are we going to get people saying, ‘Oh you’re just putting that scene in there just to put the scene in there. Does it actually have a story to tell with the rest of the narrative?’” said producer Tran. “That was always a concern in the back of our heads.”
So, after seeing early screen-tests, the ‘Endgame’ filmmakers decided to go back and add more scenes throughout the battle, where smaller groups of female superheroes band together, in an attempt to make the big moment less of a startling occurrence. It’s impossible to say whether or not they succeeded, as the scene still feels a bit out of place, but we really can’t compare if it’s better or worse than earlier cuts.
That said, the criticism that the all-female ‘Endgame’ scene is a bit of “pandering” is not something that was lost on the filmmakers. So, at least fans know that it was always a tight-rope walk with the filmmakers trying to figure out how to best present it. Whether or not it is successful is up for debate still.
You can watch the scene in question below: