Marvel Fan Uncovers Black Widow’s Alternate Death Scene in ‘Avengers: Endgame’

Marvel changed quite a few scenes in Avengers: Endgame before it premiered in theaters, including Black Widow’s (Scarlett Johansson) controversial death. The character’s death was a major turning point in the film, but it originally happened way differently than the theatrical cut. With the premiere of Black Widow pushed back to November, here is a look at Natasha Romanoff’s alternate death scene in Endgame.

Natasha says goodbye to the MCU

Black Widow Natasha was introduced in Iron Man in 2010 and went to appear in all of Marvel’s major crossover films, including The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Endgame.

Natasha’s story concluded in Endgame when she traveled to Vormir with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to retrieve the Soul Stone. After learning that one of them would have to die to get the stone, the long-time allies fought over who would jump off the cliff.

After an intense back and forth, Natasha won and threw herself over the edge of the mountain. Clint then woke up in a pool of water with the stone in his hand, much in the same way Thanos (Josh Brolin) did in Infinity War.

Natasha’s death sparked plenty of criticisms from fans, many of whom wanted to see more of the character in future projects. While fans were sad to see Natasha go, her death scene in Endgame was originally mapped out differently.

Inside Black Widow’s alternate death scene

Marvel released the boxset for the Infinity Saga last year. Included in the deleted scenes section was Natasha’s alternate death scene. Fans who purchased the boxset have had access to the scene for months, but many had no idea that it existed until now.

A fan recently posted the deleted scene on social media, giving everyone an opportunity to enjoy what was going to be Natasha’s death scene.

In the clip, Natasha and Clint are shown fighting over who was going to make the ultimate sacrifice to obtain the stone. But the big difference is the addition of Thanos and his goons, who are also looking to snag the stone.

The scene shows Black Widow making a beeline to the edge of the cliff while a few Sakaaran soldiers block her way. Natasha suffers several wounds before reaching the cliff’s edge and even manages to save Clint’s life before giving up her own.

Marvel has previously discussed the alternate scene and revealed that it was simply too complicated to be included in the final cut. Johansson and Renner later re-shot the scene, simplifying it to just their two characters.

Did Natasha really die in ‘Avengers: Endgame’?

There is no doubt that Natasha died in Endgame, but a fan theory argues that it might have been another character in disguise.

Johansson reprised her role in the upcoming film, Black Widow, which will introduce fans to some of Natasha’s family back in Russia. This includes another graduate of the red room in Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova.

As the theory goes, Yelena will take Natasha’s place at the end of Black Widow via the Photostatic Veils that were featured in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The idea is that Yelena posing as Natasha gives her more freedom to pursue other projects, kind of like what Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) did in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Marvel, of course, has not confirmed this theory. The studio has pushed back the premiere date of Black Widow to November, so fans will have to wait a few more months to find out if the theory is correct. 

‘Black Widow’ will fix this Endgame plot hole

Another leak related to Black Widow claims that Marvel will address a major plot hole from Endgame in a special post-credits scene.

Although Natasha’s sacrifice in Endgame made it possible to defeat Thanos, she was not given a proper memorial in the film. But that will reportedly be fixed in Black Widow.

The post-credits scene will allegedly feature Hawkeye and his family visiting Natasha’s grave following the events in Endgame. This will give the character a proper sendoff and help tie up all the loose ends related to her story.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Black Widow will not premiere on November 6, 2020.