Avengers: Endgame Deleted Scene Sets Up Thanos' Return

A treasure trove of scenes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have finally been released, as fans are starting to get their hands on The Infinity Saga box set and all of the deleted scenes that are included. While a lot of deleted scenes were already included with the home video releases of each movie, Marvel Studios has held a lot of them back for a special occasion. And now that it's arrived, these deleted scenes raise a lot of new questions about the future of the franchise — especially when it comes to the return of the Mad Titan.

One of the main characters from Doctor Strange made a surprising cameo in Avengers: Endgame, when the Hulk attempted secured the Time Stone. But the Ancient One, played by Tilda Swinton, had a deleted scene in which she explained the nature of the Snap and how it could lead to the return of Thanos.

In the scene, she explains that the Snap doesn't actually kill the people who are wiped out. There's a difference between actively killing someone and the act of willing them out of existence; one outcome can be reversed, while the other is quite permanent. This is why when the Hulk tried to bring Black Widow back to life, he was unable to revive his Avengers teammate.

The Mad Titan was one of the strongest parts of the new Avengers saga, proving to have the biggest impact on the MCU of any villain so far. So it stands to reason that there would be a possibility for his return, even if it doesn't take place anytime soon. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige revealed why he thought Thanos was more effective as a villain than any other character.

"The answer to why Thanos worked is Josh Brolin," Feige explained in Avengers: Endgame - The Official Movie Special. "The reason Thanos is now this iconic movie villain is because they understand where he was coming from is because of Josh Brolin. People put 'villain' in quotes when they're talking about Thanos."

He added, "We introduced Thanos for the first time at the end of the very first Avengers film. Joss Whedon wrote in the very end of his draft this little tag where a character turns around and smiles. We didn't say the name, but fans recognized that purple profile. That was the beginning of planting a flag saying, 'We could be going here; we could be building towards Thanos.' People who read the comic books knew that meant building towards The Infinity Gauntlet."

Avengers: Endgame is now available to stream on Disney+. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here. Unfortunately, the Infinity Saga box set was only briefly available at Best Buy, and it appears to have sold out completely. Keep tabs on this post in case there's a restock. It's also available here on eBay if you're willing to pay the markup.

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