Writers Reveal Why Thor and Hawkeye Were Specifically Picked to Survive Endgame

Avengers: Endgame has left a lot of material for fans to sift through in the wreckage sitting there after the movie. One of the biggest questions coming out of the colossal movie was why did Thor and Hawkeye get chosen to go on in the MCU while Iron Man and Black Widow weren’t so lucky. Endgame‘s writers sat down with Vanity Fair to talk about how the ideas for some storylines became reality. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely also had a lot to say about some of the decisions that remained in the final product of the film. All of the handwringing about Bro Thor and the strange reception of Hawkeye in the film seems to have made their way to the ears of the writers. But, to their credit, the responses seem measured and the entire conversation gives fans an in-depth look at exactly how much goes into generating a film of this scale and magnitude.

The interviewer wondered if there was a reason that Clint Barton and Thor are getting their own Disney+ movies while most of the original team is basically out of commission for the moment. McFeely said in response, “We could have had a bloodbath and all six of them gone down swinging, but that seemed even more depressing.”

When pressed to know why these two heroes were chosen among that entire initial roster, McFeely’s fellow writer chimed in. Markus said, “It’s not necessarily that we knew they’d get more stories, it’s just that …Thor has sacrificed and sacrificed and lost and lost. It’s not a good ending to kill him. To have him finally, reasonably content with himself — and with his current weight, by the way…”

So, in essence, this ending for the arcs of Thor and Hawkeye were just generally more satisfying all around. Markus would continue to outline that fact in his continued response.

He added, “There were some people who were like, “No, he has to magically lose weight.” [Laughs.] That was one of those sobering moments on set where some people were afraid, “He’s going to put on the fat-suit,” and he comes out and basically looks like everybody on the crew. That’s not a fat-suit! That’s a normal person suit! But Thor was resolved. There’s a joy in letting him go off aimlessly into the ends of the universe. And Clint got his family back, and that’s something. That’s the whole reason he was doing it.”