Women of Marvel Reflect on Avengers: Endgame’s A-Force Moment

Avengers: Endgame certainly has no shortage of epic moments, but it looks like we have a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most memorable ones. On Tuesday, Marvel released a special Endgame featurette, which centers around the scene where many of the MCU’s female characters unite. The moment, which has been dubbed the “A-Force” scene by fans, apparently had quite an impact on the actresses involved.

“It was really beautiful to feel this sort of Marvel sisterhood.” Danai Gurira, who plays Okoye, explained. “And, you know, we’re all coming from so many different films, that we all came together.”

“It was kinda like ‘I see what you do! I know your powers! Okay, show me what you’ve got.’” Shuri actress Letitia Wright added. “And then we just clicked, and we were just cheering each other on.”

“Everyone just kind of taking their turns moving around, trying to help each other out, is so fun,” Scarlet Witch actress Elizabeth Olsen revealed.

“That day was insane!” Nebula actress Karen Gillan added. “We were all in it together, and it felt electric. It was really really cool.”

“You know, I normally don’t watch playback on the monitor, but I wanted to see that reveal of all the women of Marvel.” Gwyneth Paltrow, who played Pepper Potts, revealed. “And I thought it was really powerful and really exhilarating. And I was thinking of all of the young girls in the audience who will probably feel really inspired by that in one way or another. So, it was a really nice thing to be a part of.”

While there was a bit of sexist backlash surrounding the scene, it largely was well-received by audiences, something that the film’s creative team was excited to bring onscreen.

“These movies would be nonexistent without the fans. So, you know, a movie that is made to frustrate fans seems a little suicidal,” co-writer Christopher Markus explained in May. “People say ‘fan service’ like you are pandering to some niche. I mean, we’ve all seen the numbers that these movies make. The fans are the majority at this point. Fan service is simply honoring the stories that have come before. It’s not like we’re pulling out a tiny Easter egg that only three people are going to get. It’s just tying up the threads; it’s picking up the nuances that have been dropped earlier. I don’t see it as any kind of niche writing.”

“We certainly thought long and hard about whether it had been earned.” co-writer Stephen McFeely added. “We really wanted most of these moments to be earned and not just a delightful piece of fan candy. Honestly, it made me nervous and sometimes, we would bring it up: ‘Do we keep it? Do we not keep it?’ And pretty much we all said, even me, ‘God. I’d rather see it. I’d rather it be in there and make a big conversation and some people won’t think we earned it.’ Everyone wanted to leave it in the movie.”

Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home are both in theaters now.