15 Marvel Shows And Films That Ended Up Completely Different Than What Was Originally Planned
Some movies were supposed to premiere several years earlier.
Writing the perfect story for a film or show can be challenging, and that's why it undergoes changes. Filmmakers must conclude their stories in just the right way, or viewers may be left unsatisfied or even angry.
It's not unusual for scenes to be cut, added, or changed during the editing process. This is often done to improve the flow of the story or to make a particular scene more suspenseful or exciting.
Sometimes, changes are made simply to save time or money. Some directors are very specific about how they want their films to look and sound, while others are more open to suggestions from editors and other crew members.
In either case, the goal is always to create the best possible film. Endings also get altered from what was originally intended.
In fact, several movies begin with endings that are completely dropped by the time the movie is released in theaters. It's possible that the ending was modified because test audiences didn't like it.
Perhaps an actor objected to how a scene was being shot, or perhaps a director realized during production that the plot needed to be changed. Sometimes the studio or director may feel that the original ending is too dark or depressing, and they will want to change it to something more upbeat.
Today, we're listing Marvel shows and movies that were completely altered from the studio's initial plans.
Marvel's movie plans are constantly changing while they are being developed, just like their original source material — the comic books.
Marvel Studios / Via giphy.comA planned project may take years to materialize on screen. And once it does, it may not look at all like what the studio had in mind.
Marvel Studios / Via giphy.com1. During a 2006 Comic-Con, the producers revealed their plans to include Moon Knight in Blade: The Series.
Unfortunately, the show was canceled after just one season.
Marvel Studios / Disney+ / Via youtube.com
Some months later, No Equal Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced that they planned to produce a Moon Knight series.
Marvel Studios / Disney+ / Via youtube.com
No announcements were made afterward. Come 2022, the Moon Knight series was released on Disney+.
Marvel Studios / Disney+
2. Spider-Man: No Way Home was supposed to be released after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Matt Kennedy / © Sony Pictures Releasing / © Marvel Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection
But because of the pandemic, the release of the Spider-Man film was pushed back.
Matt Kennedy / © Sony Pictures Releasing / © Marvel Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection
3. The 1990 film The Death of the Incredible Hulk was set to introduce She-Hulk in the live-action film, but she was never included.
Disney Xd / Disney XD via Getty Images
In the early '90s, Larry Cohen planned on making a She-Hulk film that starred Brigitte Nielsen.
Pool Benainous / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
We don't know the reason why it didn't push through, but a She-Hulk series is scheduled to premiere in 2022 on Disney+.
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4. DreamWorks obtained the rights to The Hands of Shang-Chi in 2001. Stephen Norrington was tagged as the director.
Amanda Edwards / WireImage / Via Getty
The plans fell through, and the rights returned to Marvel. The company announced the movie in 2005.
Jasin Boland /© Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection
Marvel was supposed to introduce Shang-Chi to attract Chinese audiences in the post-credits scene of The Avengers.
Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
The plans for the Shang-Chi film were only realized in 2021 with the movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Jasin Boland /© Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection
5. Marvel and Full Moon Entertainment came to an agreement to make a Doctor Strange movie in the early '90s.
Jay Maidment / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection
But before its production, their plans didn't push through. Full Moon Entertainment also lost the rights to the movie.
Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
They chose to revise the script just enough to avoid facing copyright infringement rather than fully scrapping the project, which led them to create Doctor Mordrid.
Full Moon Entertainment. Courtesy: Everett Collection
In 2016, Doctor Strange finally premiered.
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6. In 2004, Lionsgate teamed up with Marvel Studios to produce the film Black Widow, with X-Men co-writer David Hayter at the helm.
Tara Ziemba / Getty Images
Hayter worked on the screenplay for an entire year.
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But when he finally reached the final draft phase, a number of films featuring female vigilantes premiered.
After the flop of Aeon Flux, the studio told the director that perhaps now wasn't the time to make the film.
Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Natasha Romanoff eventually debuted in Iron Man 2 in 2010. Then, in 2021, her film finally came out.
Merrick Morton/©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
7. Joss Whedon considered replacing Scarlett Johansson because he wasn't sure whether she'd return for the movie.
Merrick Morton/©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
In an interview with Thrillist, the Avengers director admitted that he wrote pages and pages of The Wasp, but ultimately, they weren't useful.
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In the end, Scarlett Johansson reprised her role, and now, Black Widow's role in The Avengers is solidified.
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8. In 1990, Universal obtained the rights to Iron Man with the intention of making a low-budget film under the direction of Stuart Gordon. Ed Neumeier was supposed to be its writer.
But it never reached the pre-production phase because the other Marvel movies released at the time weren't successful.
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The film rights were then sold to Fox. The company approached Stan Lee and Jeff Vintar to create a script wherein MODOK was the villain.
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But Fox ended up selling the rights to New Line Cinema.
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The story went through many rewrites that were quite similar to the final script that was used in the movie.
Unfortunately, New Line Cinema's film rights lapsed just as they were about to clinch a deal with filmmaker Nick Cassavetes. The film rights returned to Marvel Studios, which eventually released the movie with Paramount Pictures in 2008.
Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
9. In an early draft of Iron Man 3, Maya Hansen was the villain.
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But since a Marvel toy wouldn't sell well if it featured a female character, the idea was scrapped.
Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Aldrich Killian became the main villain, while Maya's role in the story was reduced.
Zade Rosenthal/©Walt Disney Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection
10. Director Alan Taylor wanted to have a bit more magical quality in Thor: The Dark World.
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But the director's vision wasn't realized in the final result.
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11. The tone of Thor: Ragnarok was supposed to be dark.
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Kevin Feige and the directors were given far greater creative freedom throughout the film's development phase because Marvel Studios split off from Marvel Entertainment.
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With the freedom the team was given, Taika Waititi was able to include a comedic touch in the film.
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12. In the first edit of Eternals, the ending was bleak.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection
The finale was reworked because it didn't satisfy the test audience.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection
13. Christopher Markus, co-writer of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, insisted on making MODOK the main antagonist of the movie.
In addition, he wanted Peter Dinklage for the part.
Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images
But it seemed that the team wasn't on his side.
Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Alexander Pierce became the villain. MODOK hasn't debuted in any MCU title.
Zade Rosenthal/©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection
14. Jessica Jones was set to begin airing on ABC, with Carol Danvers as the titular character's best friend.
At the time, Carol was Ms. Marvel, a superhero and Jessica's best friend in the comic books.
Chuck Zlotnick / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel / courtesy Everett Collection
The network passed on it.
The showrunner, Melissa Rosenberg, was forced to completely drop the character after Carol became Captain Marvel in the comics. She also received her own movie.
Chuck Zlotnick / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel / courtesy Everett Collection
Trish Walker took her place, and in 2019's Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers made her MCU debut.
Chuck Zlotnick / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel / courtesy Everett Collection
15. Marvel collaborated with Wesley Snipes to bring Black Panther to the silver screen.
Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
But recreating Wakanda proved to be impossible with the limitations of technology at the time.
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Snipes later starred in Blade, while Chadwick Boseman played the titular character in 2018.
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There are several reasons why these changes might be made.
Sometimes, it's simply a matter of the creators wanting to make a better product. Other times, external factors can lead to alterations.
Whatever the reason, revisions to the stories of shows and movies are not uncommon. Often, they can make a significant difference in how audiences react.
