Avengers: Infinity War is a huge film, and we don’t mean in terms of box office success. The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe installment is packed with characters, but even with the large cast there were still characters we didn’t see — including Sharon Carter.
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The last audiences saw of Sharon, she met up with Steve Rogers/Captain America, Sam Wilson/Falcon, and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier while they were on the run from the government in Captain America: Civil War. Sharon retrieved their equipment for them and met up with them in a secret location. After Steve thanked her for the help, the pair shared a passionate kiss before going their separate ways. Many fans hoped to find out more about where their relationship went after Civil War, but Sharon didn’t appear in the film at all. So where was she? According to Infinity War screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, she appeared in early drafts.
“In previous drafts, a couple of times,” Markus told Collider. “Sharon Carter was a victim of what we came to realize as we were writing it which is that if you’re writing scenes that set up people before the story has gotten to them such as Steve and Sharon trying to make it work in an apartment, they’re gonna go because the movie does not have time to catch up ‘previously on the life of Steve Rogers.’”
Economy of storytelling is what McFeely cited as well, specifically because she didn’t really have anything to do with the film’s Thanos-centric plot.
“Once it became sort of a smash and grab type movie anything that wasn’t on the main A plot about and in response to Thanos collecting stones mostly got jettisoned,” McFeely said.
The idea of Sharon not really fitting into the larger story is something that Emily VanCamp, the actor who plays Sharon, herself has hinted at before. Earlier this year, VanCamp told BUILD that the character fit better into movies centered on Captain America than Infinity War.
“I mean listen, it’s hard to fit Sharon into that,” VanCamp said. “She’s really in Cap’s world, you know what I mean? So, I mean, I can’t say anything about anything, but I will say that you know she sort of fits into the Captain America movies, that’s where her sort of story lies, but I can tell you it’s going to be like an epic two-parter. From everything that I hear ya know, it’s going to be amazing, and the Russo Brothers are phenomenal. I mean they can do no wrong really, so I’m really excited to see it.”
Just because Sharon didn’t make it to Infinity War, however, doesn’t mean we might not see her in the future. The first plot synopsis for next year’s Avengers 4 has arrived and while it doesn’t give much away, it does mention that the heroes “will truly understand how fragile this reality is and the sacrifices that must be made to uphold it.” It’s not impossible that Steve’s relationship with Sharon is one of those sacrifices or, given the loss of Bucky in Infinity War, one of the fragile realities Steve wants to uphold.
Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now.