‘Avengers: Endgame’ Co-Director Reveals the 1 Marvel Hero He Wanted to Use in the Movie
Every success story has its haters. But most moviegoers are amazed at the consistent level of quality maintained throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over the course of 11 years, the franchise introduced dozens of characters, finally bringing them together in Avengers: Endgame. Yet, as epic as the movie is, it is still missing one particular Marvel hero.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ featured just about every hero in the MCU
After years of building up Thanos (Josh Brolin) and the Infinity Stones, that storyline finally came to the forefront in Avengers: Infinity War. That 2018 release — along with Avengers: Endgame — served as the end of an era for the MCU. And most fans were not disappointed with the grand scope of it all. Neither was the studio.
Combined, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame earned $4.8 billion worldwide. With the universe hanging in the balance and several heroes taking their final bows, the two-parter feels like the story the MCU was building toward. Imagine how much more successful the movies would be if directors Joe and Anthony Russo had included every hero they wanted.
But the directors really would have loved at least one more Marvel icon
Because it ends over a decade of storytelling, Avengers: Endgame focuses heavily on the original six Avengers. But it also finds enough narrative space to bring in heroes from Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel in key roles. Still, co-director Joe Russo revealed to Comic Book Movie the one hero he wishes they could have brought in too.
I mean, Wolverine was always one of my favorite characters. Incredible Hulk #181 was one of the first comic books that I remember collecting, which was the first appearance of Wolverine. Hugh Jackman has done an incredible job with that character over the years, and I think they should take a break for a little while before someone else takes a crack at it.
Of course, Marvel Studios didn’t have the rights to use any of the X-Men characters in Avengers: Endgame. If Disney’s acquisition of Fox was completed earlier, perhaps writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely could have somehow included Wolverine. After all, they pulled off a similar feat with Spider-Man’s introduction in Captain America: Civil War.
Wolverine and the X-Men will be joining the MCU sometime soon
Now though, it’s a whole different story. The MCU has the freedom to bring in all Marvel characters previously locked down by Fox. That means Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men are on an inevitable collision course with the MCU. The question is when and how the characters will make their long-awaited appearances.
For Wolverine, Russo might be on to something. The popularity of Hugh Jackman’s performance calls for some time away from Wolverine. But the MCU has a ton of options for how they can move forward. In fact, if the franchise wants to, it could even bring Dafne Keen’s X-23 from Logan into the MCU. For now, fans will have to wait and see what Marvel has in mind.
