We were literally this close to seeing Thanos answer to the Living Tribunal in Avengers: Infinity War. On Friday, Christopher Markus and Scott McFeely sat down in Hall H at SDCC 2019 to talk about writing Avengers: Endgame, and they gave fans a glimpse of the cut scene that could have been.
According to CBR’s live-blog of the panel, the writers originally planned to have Dr. Strange blow Thanos’ mind so hard he would have landed in front of the Living Tribunal, who would have judged him for all the crimes he’d committed against the universe.
“We didn’t lose it. We took it out!” Markus said during the panel, according to CBR. “It was partly inspired by Kevin Fiege… he came in to the conference room in Atlanta, where we were trapped for years, and he had brought a bunch of comics panels with him… we were pretty far down the road… and he wanted to make sure we didn’t lose the psychedelic nature of the Starlin universe… and so we stuck the Living Tribunal in the movie… So, as Thanos and Dr. Strange came to blows, Doctor Strange blew Thanos’ mind and send him through the mind-scape.”
McFeely added that this would have been “not unlike” what happened in Doctor Strange with the Ancient One and Stephen Strange, according to CBR: “In the end, he would have been dumped in front of the Living Tribunal, who judged him guilty.”
According to Hypable’s live-blog, the writers ultimately decided to cut it because, cool as it was, it would have removed the threat from Thanos.
Damn. This would have been a huge game-changer! What do you think about the writers’ decision to leave out the Living Tribunal?
A wise storytelling choice. But a scene I’d love to see nonetheless.
Yeah, wouldn’t have worked. If the Tribunal judged him guilty, without any consequences, it would’ve been hollow. Unless Strange was giving a warning and Thanos scoffed at it. Which again, would’ve nullified the impact of a cosmic entity.
But it’s cool that Feige wants to introduce that aspect of cosmic Marvel. I’ve been wanting Celestials (the Kirby variety) and a faithful rendering of Galactus for awhile now.
Well, it would have been textbook deus ex machina. I know Marvel is not exactly shying away from easy answers to complex problems but it would have been a bit much. The ”court of the universe” is not my favourite trope.
I think cutting the Living Tribunal was a good decision. In agreement with the screenwriters Thanos would no longer be a true threat. Furthermore, by preventing the cosmic justice due Thanos it allowed the screenwriters to better develop by far the most complex and respected villian film has seen. Thanos is now on par with the likes of Darth Vader as far as villany is concerned because Thanos was not so quickly disposed.
Another consideration is the delay to introduce the Living Tribunal allows for more time to develop creative writing. With the overwhelming audience response to the various plots that all culminated in Endgame, this lends to heightening the level of Marvel’s expectations for novelty which to date has not disappointed.
Don’t rush character introductions and keep up the great work.
It would have hurt the flow of the fight, but if they did it right it would add to it. The directors now say phase four will be a new ‘cosmic era’ and what better way to do that than to put LT in endgame? I would have loved to see the living tribunal in the MCU though! It would be terrible if he judged Thanos without punishment, but if his verdict had a large affect on the battle it would be great, it would also be dramatic to have the battle be so important that it was worthy of his personal attention.