Avengers: Endgame Writer Tried a Version Where Hawkeye Made the Soul Stone Sacrifice, but Female Colleagues Convinced Him Who It Needed Be
A version of Avengers: Endgame featured another hero making the Soul Stone sacrifice, until writer Stephen McFeely was convinced against this by female Marvel colleagues.
During a post-Avengers: Endgame Encore screening Q&A in Minnesota, writer Stephen McFeely revealed that he initially considered writing a version of the movie where Hawkeye made the sacrifice of obtaining the Soul Stone, but was convinced by his female Marvel colleagues otherwise. The decision came after realizing that two people who loved each other needed to die, with Black Widow and Hawkeye being the obvious pairing in the story.
While Hawkeye had spent years post-Snap as a brutal assassin, he had a wife and children to go back to if Thanos' decision was undone. In contrast, Black Widow had found the Avengers, who became a new family for her, and sacrificing herself would protect her found family. Despite initial hesitation, McFeely's colleagues encouraged him to keep Black Widow's death, as killing a prominent female character in the MCU was not a decision to be taken lightly.
Written by urgent.news from IGN's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
