The controversial all-female ensemble at the final battle in Avengers: Endgame was reshot after early tests deemed the scene too “pandering." The reveal comes from the recently published book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry.
In the book, Endgame producer Trinh Tran reveals that the scene that features all of the female superheroes banding together to face Thanos (Josh Brolin) was not well received in early testing. This negative reaction led the crew of Endgame to rethink how they could leave the scene in the film while making it feel more organically introduced. The solution was to shoot more scenes featuring smaller team-ups between the heroines to make the big reunion more credible.
As mentioned in the book:
“In earlier cuts, Tran admits, ‘When we started screen-testing it, there was a little concern for ‘Does it come off [as]pandering?’ Are we going to get people saying, ‘Oh you’re just putting that scene in there just to put the scene in there? Does it actually have a story to tell with the rest of the narrative?’ That was always a concern in the back of our heads.’”
The book also reveals that the idea for the all-female scene came from a photo tweeted by Thor: Ragnarok co-writer Craig Kyle. The photo was taken at a reception after Kyle asked all the amazing female cast members of the MCU to pose together. According to the book:
"During reception, [Evangeline] Lilly connected with her fellow empowered actresses like Tessa Thompson, Brie Larson, Zoe Saldana and others. Seeing them bonding in front of him, Craig Kyle was inspired to try and capture the moment for his daughter back home. He asked Trinh Tran if she could collect them all for a group shot. Bringing those women together for that photo is what spurred their collective talk about an all-female Super Hero film that they then pitched to Feige. And in the immediate future, it led to the expansion of the finale battle featuring all of their characters in Endgame.”
Avengers: Endgame is the epic conclusion of the first three Phases of the MCU, putting an end to the saga of Thanos and the Infinite Stones. Endgame became the highest-grossing film ever made, a title previously held by James Cameron’s Avatar. The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is available now, and Avengers: Endgame is available to stream on Disney+.