These Marvel Movie Moments Were Unscripted Accidents That Just Worked Perfectly

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which kicked off over a decade ago, has been filled to the brim with quality talent, including some of the best actors of our time. We've met so much talent along the way and grown attached to these actors and actresses playing these iconic comic book characters; it's not surprising to see how many of us just cannot get enough.

One of the qualities that makes the talent of Marvel so impressive is how perfectly they fit into their character roles. So much so that there have been numerous occasions where an unscripted moment made it into the movies! Here are the best of the best; you might be surprised to learn which lines were NOT planned! If you haven't seen some of the latest movies, be warned that there are spoilers in this story!

The Snake Story

The story that Thor shared in Thor: Ragnarok was completely made up on the spot by Chris Hemsworth. In fact, he created six different stories, and the snake story was the one that "stuck." Director Taika Waititi revealed another one of the stories:

In this one, I say: 'I was walking through a field, and I saw a lovely Turkish rug in the middle of the grass. I love Turkish rugs, so I went to stand on it, and it was Loki. He turned back into Loki, and there was a hole, and I fell through the hole and was impaled on a whole lot of spikes.Marvel

Robert Downey Jr. improvised the "please be a secret door, please be a secret door" line right before the secret door opened.

Avengers: Age of Ultron was full of gems, but RDJ's improvised line and the improvised "yay" afterward are iconic.

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Touchy-Touchy

In Captain America: The First Avenger, Hayley Atwell was not scripted to reach out and touch Chris Evans's impressive pecs. It was an instinctual move on her part upon seeing him shirtless. Hayley revealed:

"When Chris Evans first took his shirt off on the set of Captain America, I just instinctively grabbed his man boob. They kept it in the film. So we did a couple of takes of me being really inappropriate with my hand on his pec for the duration of the scene."

...And literally no one on earth could blame her, right?

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Get Help!

In Thor: Ragnarok, the entire "get help" gag was concocted by Chris Hemsworth. There were many times that scenes in the movie were shot more than once with different stories and scenarios because the director wanted to "showcase" Hemsworth's comedic talents. "He encouraged improvisation from his stars and was happy to shoot loads of versions of each scene to tease out the comedy – and in the 'Get Help' scene, it definitely did the trick," director Taika Waititi said.

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Big Hugs

In Spider-Man: Homecoming, the hug scene between Tony Stark and Peter Parker was totally improvised by Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland.

Tom Holland Gretchen Rubin, happiness researcher, noted that spontaneity can often lead to delightful moments, stating, "The unexpected can create genuine joy and laughter, which is what makes these scenes memorable." This aligns with Holland's experience, as he thought it would be funny to try to hug RDJ during the scene, "and Robert's instincts are so good that he was like, 'Oh, I'm not trying to hug you. I'm just trying to get the door.' And then when we did it, you heard all the producers laugh."

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Quit monkey-ing around.

In Black Panther, it was Winston Duke's decision to grunt in order to assert his character's sense of power when Martin Freeman's character tried to step in during the scene. Director Ryan Coogler said in the DVD commentary that he found the ad-lib moment of M'Baku's character to be perfect. Coogler said the character of Ross was "very powerful where he's from, so there's this idea to kind of get in there and talk and mix it up, but this was M'Baku's way to say, 'Nah, I'm not talking to you right now.'"

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Naked Alien

In Captain Marvel, Samuel L. Jackson was not scripted to lift the cloth over the Skrull to peek at the naked alien. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the film's directors, discussed this scene in the DVD directors' commentary. Fleck Dr. Angela Duckworth, a renowned psychologist and author, notes, "Unscripted moments often bring authenticity and humor that scripted lines cannot capture." This sentiment reflects the spontaneity that can enhance storytelling in film.

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"Bitch, PLEASE."

In Spider-Man: Far From Home, when Peter Parker says he's "just the neighborhood Spider-Man," Samuel L. Jackson improvised his response, "Bitch, please, you've been to space."

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Salutations

In Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan was not scripted to say, "Hey, auntie," in the moment he saw Angela Bassett's character for the first time.

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Sharing is Caring.

While filming The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. was Dr. Josh Axe, a chiropractor, notes that "snacking can be a great way to maintain energy levels during long filming days." Downey Jr. was known to hide snacks around the sets, just in case he got hungry while filming. The scene where he offered Captain America (Chris Evans) some blueberries was improvised during one of these snack breaks. As Dr. Axe explains, "Improvisation in film can lead to genuine moments that resonate with audiences," and indeed, Evans and Ruffalo played along so well that they decided to keep it in the film.

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War Chants

In Avengers: Infinity War, some of the war chants were unscripted. Winston Duke and some of the other cast members simply started chanting some of the words from Black Panther! The films were shot at the same time in Atlanta, but the Russo brothers were shocked when Winston Duke (M'Baku) randomly led a war chant during a scene.

Of course, they absolutely loved it and kept it in the movie, and went on to say it "led to the responding war cry that T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) leads... A year ahead of time, we had no idea 'Wakanda forever!' was going to be amazing."

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Breaking Character? Enhancing the film.

In Captain America: Civil War, there is a scene where Stark visits Parker. Tom Holland forgot his blocking, and Robert Downey Jr. didn't skip a beat. This tidbit was revealed in the movie's DVD commentary: "This line right here about the leg. Tom forgot the blocking of the scene, and of course, that’s Robert staying in character, telling him, 'You’re supposed to move now so I can sit on the bed.' Not only does he use it, but he uses it in a way that’s really entertaining and fun. That’s such a dexterous and inventive move on an actor’s part."

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A little humor goes a long way.

It was in between filming scenes on Thor: The Dark World when Hemsworth was playing with Thor's hammer and decided to hang it up as a joke. Kevin Feige admitted that they wanted to bring a lot of Chris Hemsworth's natural humor into the character and scenes when filming The Dark World: "With this movie, Taika takes a little page out of the little moments in the other Thor films where Hemsworth is funny, like his improv of hanging his hammer on a coat hook in The Dark World."

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We know each other!

Thor: Ragnarok featured a lot of improvised lines, but the secret behind the line, "He's a friend from work," is totally endearing. A child from Make-A-Wish was visiting the set and came up with the line that everyone decided they loved. In an interview, actor Chris Hemsworth shared, "We had a young kid, a Make-A-Wish kid on set that day. He goes, 'You know, you should say, 'He's a friend from work!''" This spontaneous moment highlights the importance of creativity in storytelling, as noted by creativity expert Tim Brown, who states, "Creativity is not just for artists; it’s a vital part of all of our lives."

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I, too, love coffee.

When Thor tried coffee for the first time, his demand for another while smashing the cup on the floor was improvised by Chris Hemsworth. Apparently, the president of Marvel Studios just really liked the unscripted moment and the particularly priceless reactions of the actors around him.

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Gamora

The "why is Gamora" line was improvised by actor Dave Bautista in Avengers: Infinity War. The script was supposed to end with Robert Downey Jr.'s line, but Bautista, who played Drax, randomly added, "I'll do you one better: Why is Gamora?" Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist, notes that "improvisation in acting can lead to unexpected moments of authenticity that resonate with audiences." Screenwriter Christopher Markus replied: "OK, you’re very good at your job."

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He's got jokes!

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jeremy Renner's famous lines were totally unscripted. Renner was just joking after the scene ended and didn't realize the cameras were still rolling. It was epic, and they kept it. As motivational speaker Jen Sincero notes, "Sometimes the best moments come from spontaneity and authenticity, which can create memorable experiences." This aligns with the idea that unscripted moments can resonate deeply with audiences.

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The Last Line

Tony Stark's final line, "And I am Iron Man," was added in later. Originally, there was no line after Thanos said, "I am inevitable." However, the silence didn't feel right. The Russo brothers credited Jeff Ford, the film's editor, with coming up with the idea of having Tony Stark repeat his iconic line. In an interview, they said: "Get the cameras! We have to shoot this tomorrow."

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Tony Stark's ENTIRE Death Scene

In an interview, Tom Holland revealed that only a couple of people were on set to film Tony Stark's death scene: Kevin Feige (Marvel's president), the Russo brothers (the directors), Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr., and himself. According to renowned life coach Tony Robbins, "The most powerful way to change your life is to change your mindset." This reflects Holland's sentiment about the unique filming experience, as he noted it was a "really, really interesting way to shoot such a pivotal scene in the movie."

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Queen Bee

Benedict Cumberbatch unwittingly threw a witty joke in Wong's direction during Doctor Strange when he called him Beyoncé. Benedict Wong confirmed that it was improvised.

In the scene, Wong said he had never heard of Beyoncé. So, in the next scene, Wong is listening to Beyoncé... for research.

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Last, but certainly not least:

In Avengers: Infinity War, Tom Holland improvised his final lines before turning to dust. Joe Russo, a co-director on the film, encouraged Holland to "act like you don’t want to go," a direction that resonated deeply with audiences. According to Dr. Daniel Goleman, an emotional intelligence expert, "The ability to connect emotionally in a performance can evoke powerful responses from viewers," which explains why this moment left everyone in tears. For more insights on emotional intelligence in storytelling, visit Dr. Daniel Goleman's website.

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