Why Marvel's Reshoots Couldn't Save Endgame's Doomed A-Force Scene
Despite reshoots, Marvel could not save the doomed and well-criticized A-Force scene in the Avengers: Endgame. The 2019 epic conclusion to the Infinity Saga saw MCU heroes assemble to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin) once and for all. In one of Endgame’s most climactic scenes, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) needed to bring the Infinity Gauntlet across the chaotic battlefield. When Spider-Man (Tom Holland) asked her how she would do it, the women of the MCU came to her rescue, marching and preparing to face Thanos’ army together. While the scene was supposedly meant to inspire and empower women, it also came across as pandering for many.
Upon the film’s release, the Avengers: Endgame’s so-called A-Force scene divided its viewers. While it served as a genuinely pleasing moment, it also garnered criticism from some. The scene had been negatively received, primarily because these female heroes have never once interacted on screen prior to the third act of Endgame. Moreover, teaming up to help Captain Marvel was arguably unnecessary, especially since she has been depicted as one of the strongest heroes. But as it turned out, the final A-Force scene shown in Avengers: Endgame had been reconceptualized multiple times along the film’s production.
According to Marvel producer Trinh Tran in the book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Endgame A-Force scene had to undergo reshoots. During the film’s screen tests, the filmmakers had to consider the narrative weight and significance of the segment. However, the reshoots had evidently failed since the scene still received the negative reviews they originally hoped to evade. After all, putting all the female heroes together in one frame is a seemingly forced gesture from a studio that, for years, has been blasted for its lack of female representation. While it hoped to give homage to the strength and resilience of the MCU's women, it also seemed incomplete, especially since Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), the first female hero in the franchise, was absent.
Marvel could have taken a different approach on the famed A-Force scene in order to make it more natural and earned. In a deleted Avengers: Endgame scene, the heroes found themselves falling back into a trench. Following this, the original A-Force scene was framed differently, with Captain Marvel getting blasted unconscious. The female Avengers, led by Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), then circled around her until she could recover and proceed with her task. Had Marvel followed this concept, the scene would have been more organic since it presented an actual need to assemble the A-Force.
On the other hand, that talked-about scene in Avengers: Endgame, which is the culmination of a decade’s worth of storytelling, could have been better if the franchise had just showcased strong, prominent female presences. Aside from sharing a common goal, these characters could have socialized or cooperated more in the previous films, thus forming a genuine relationship outside the battlefield. In that way, their need to assemble in times of desperate need, similar to that A-Force scene, felt more intuitive, and consequently, satisfying. Fortunately, the MCU Phase 4 is gearing up towards building real representation for its female characters.