Avengers: Endgame Writers Were Told They Could Kill off Characters if They Wanted, but Were Under No Obligation

For millions of people, Avengers: Endgame is the game which caused them some very real emotional distress this year. The blockbuster brought the last decade of Marvel Studios films to a climax with some shocking deaths. Now, the writers behind the record-breaking blockbuster are speaking out on the gig, and the duo said they were given the choice to kill whomever they wanted.

Recently, Vanity Fair spoke to Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus. It was there the screenwriters broke down how they went about dissecting the film's big deaths.

"I think really all we were handed was Thanos, which necessitates the use of the Infinity Stones - which are this, this, and this throughout the MCU - and 'if you want to get rid of people, you can, but you're under no obligation to just kill them willy nilly.' And that was just about all," Markus said.

Of course, the pair did not decide to kill people on a whim. McFeely stressed their decisions were not made randomly, but they did need to figure out which characters would even be in the film to axe.

"There were a bunch of obvious implications from that," Markus said before adding, "Namely, we could bring in the Guardians, because two of Thanos' stepdaughters were on that ship. It could be anybody from anywhere, and in fact should be."

Over the course of Avengers: Endgame, fans witnessed the deaths of some truly beloved heroes. It was confirmed Avengers: Infinity War really had done away with Gamora, but a bit of time-traveling juju brought a version of the character back. As for the new death total, the Avengers lost Black Widow after the spy sacrificed herself to unlock the Soul Stone. Finally, fans were left shaken when Iron Man went dark after Tony Stark took a lethal blow to use the Infinity Gems against Thanos. Now, the MCU will be left to rebuild in the wake of such loss, and Marvel Studios will rely on writers like this duo to guide its next films through Phase IV.

So, would you change the film's kill list if you could? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are now available on home video. Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in spring 2021,Loki in spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If? In summer 2021, Hawkeye in fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021. Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and Ms. Marvel series have also been announced.