As they did at the end of Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios will soon be celebrating the end of Phase 2 with a brand new limited edition box set. In addition to containing all of the titles in the second wave of films from the company – including Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man - the set also includes an exclusive bonus disc that includes extras not featured in any previously released package. Including a number of deleted scenes as well as featurettes about the past and future of Marvel, there is a lot of content to surf through, and a lot revealed about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 2 box set will be released next Tuesday, December 8th, we’ve received an early copy, and have dug through the bonus disc for all of the new info we could find. We’ve organized it all for you below, so read on!
Civil War will show the true power of Scarlet Witch
Discussing Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige notes that Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch is only starting to learn how to use her abilities in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and that we will "see exactly how powerful she is." Could this mean that her knack for changing reality might come to the surface? That’s certainly a hallmark of the comics, and could big a big thing to introduce for Phase Three.
Potential to show up in Civil War was a major motivator behind including Ant-Man as part of Phase 2
Marvel Studios has earned a reputation for thinking ahead – mapping out the moves that they want to make in the Marvel Cinematic Universe years in advance – and as a result they’ve probably been thinking about Captain America: Civil War for years now. What you may not know is that this was ultimately a big motivator for including Ant-Man at the end of Phase Two. On the bonus disc, Kevin Feige reveals in an interview, "Another reason we wanted Ant-Man to close out Phase Two was so that he could be introduced to the universe and he could be called upon in the events of Civil War."
Civil War will challenge the way that you think about both Iron Man and Captain America
When comic book readers think about the events of Marvel’s Civil War in the comics, Captain America is generally seen as the hero, while Iron Man comes across as the antagonist. Given that the film adaptation of the storyline is also Captain America 3, we expect this to stay the same on the big screen – but don’t expect the star spangled hero to come out of the events entirely clean. As Civil War director Joe Russo explains, the movie is going to challenge the way that we think about both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Obviously the potential for consequences on the rest of Phase Three are massive.
Scott Derrickson’s four-word description of his Doctor Strange vision sounds awesome
Doctor Strange should be a landmark title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only will it be introducing the incredibly important element of magic to the big screen world, but coming from a horror director it’s expected that the feature will be a bit spookier than what we’ve previously seen from the studio. At the same time, however, it is also going to be an blockbuster that has characters transporting through different dimensions - which is why we love director Scott Derrickson’s description of the movie as a "mind-trip action film."
Iron Man 2’s post-credits scene started as a scene from Thor’s script
Folks at Marvel Studios have often talked about how they never really plan for creating post-credit sequences, and that filmmakers just wait for inspiration to strike. In the case of the tag at the end of Iron Man 2, the moment of clarity arrived when the company was developing the script for Thor. As is revealed in a featurette about the various post-credit scenes, after reading a scene where Agent Coulson arrives at the Mjolnir crash site in New Mexico, it was decided that the moment would be perfect as the final note of Iron Man 2 teasing the upcoming arrival of the God of Thunder.
The Iron Man 3 Reveal Of Bruce Banner was Robert Downey Jr.’s idea
Dubbing them "science bros," fans were delighted to see a friendship grow between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in The Avengers, and after they ride off together at the end of the movie there was a good amount of speculation as to whether or not they would somehow reunite in Iron Man 3. This wound up happening, and mostly because of Robert Downey Jr.’s suggestion. The actor explains in an interview, "I was always kind of like, it makes sense – Bruce and Tony drive off into the Central Park sunset at the end of Avengers, so I think a lot of it is that we’re in ‘cahoots.’"
Captain America: Civil War’s new superhero legislation gets spelled out succinctly
With Marvel Studios being secretive as usual, there hasn’t been a great deal revealed about the superhero legislation that will cause Avengers to clash in Captain America: Civil War, but in the bonus features of the Phase 2 box set producer Nate Moore spells it out rather perfectly: "The government is saying, ‘Hey Avengers, just because you can be first responders across the globe doesn’t mean you should be. All superheroes should be registered. There should no longer be vigilantes.’" Unfortunately, Iron Man supports this idea, while Cap most definitely doesn’t – and deep conflict is born.
Thanos is in the Avengers 2 Credits at Joss Whedon’s request
Thanos is going to play a massive role in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – with all the events up until 2018 leading to the mega two-part blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War, where the Mad Titan will be the central villain. Where his part of the story really began, however, was in the post-credits scene of The Avengers, where Joss Whedon introduced him as Earth’s greatest theat. As a result of this, apparently Whedon feels a bit of ownership over the character, and as a result requested that he return for the post-credits scene of The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Now we have the footage from the Chinese version of Iron Man 3
When Iron Man 3 was released back in 2013, it was revealed that the version of the movie being shown in China was slightly different than the cut the rest of the world was seeing. This extra footage wasn’t included on the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray, but it is on the bonus disc of the Phase 2 box set. Basically, it’s a conversation between two Chinese doctors discussing the risk of removing Tony Stark’s arc reactor. It’s not really that interesting, but it is an interesting note in Marvel Studios history to which fans now have access.
Thor: The Dark World originally had a big Loki fantasy sequence
The first act of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor includes a notable sequence where Thor is about to be crowned as the king of Asgard, and originally Thor: The Dark World was going to have a very similar event in its opening. This difference, however, is that it was Loki getting cheered on by the masses and taking the stage. This is included as a deleted scene on the Phase 2 box set bonus disc – and while it’s pretty incomplete (missing footage of Rene Russo as Frigga), it’s still a cool scene.
You can watch all of Peggy Carter’s interview from Captain America 2… but prepare to shed a tear
In Captain America: The Winter Solider, Steve Rogers goes to an exhibit at the Smithsonian and winds up watching a video featuring Peggy Carter talking about her relationship with Captain America. Only part of the interview is shown, but the full thing is available on the Phase 2 box set bonus disc. Fair warning: Hayley Atwell is a very talented actress, and you may get caught up in her emotional performance. Bring a tissue.
Guardians Of The Galaxy originally showed what happened to Nebula
Nebula makes a dramatic exit from Guardians of the Galaxy, cutting off her own arm to get away from Gamora before hijacking a spaceship, but there was a version of the movie where she got one more scene. In a deleted sequence – which also features a shot of Gregg Henry’s character looking to the stars for his grandson – we see Nebula has landed on the surface of Xandar, wandering around with only one arm. Where she is going we probably won’t find out until we see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
The Guardians of the Galaxy bar scene was originally a lot longer
The bar on Knowhere is home to some pretty important emotional moments in Guardians of the Galaxy - including a growing bond between Star-Lord and Gamora and a freak-out by Rocket – but what you may not know is that there were initially two extra parts to the scene that ultimately got cut. The first is Drax explaining the origins of his tattoos to both Rocket and Groot, and then the trio gambling with a guy who has a human face but mouths where his eyes should be. It’s… trippy.
Captain America doesn’t wear his helmet in the Avengers 2 finale because of insulting graffiti
Watching The Avengers: Age of Ultron, you may have noticed that Captain America doesn’t wear his helmet while battling robots in the final act. There is a reason for this, but it’s only explained in a deleted scene. While getting off of the Quinjet in Sokovia, he sees some demonic-looking Captain America graffiti on the wall, and decides that showing his face to the people of the Eastern European country is probably a good idea.
Vision originally had a much longer fight with Thor following his birth
Upon being born in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Vision starts out being pretty aggressive, immediately getting into a fight with Thor before looking out at the world at becoming peaceful. Originally, this aggression was going to be much more significant. A deleted scene on the Phase 2 box set bonus disc reveals and extended battle between Vision and Thor that gives the android opportunity to show off some of his abilities (including energy blasts from the Mind Stone and Intangibility). It’s understandable why it was cut, as it winds up being a bit awkward when Vision just suddenly becomes peaceful, but it’s still a well-choreographed bit of fisticuffs.
Scarlet Witch’s red jacket actually belongs to Black Widow
Before suiting up in her first official "superhero costume" at the end of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Scarlet Witch starts to take on a look resembling her comic book counterpart when she throws on a red jacket before the fight in Sokovia. In the movie, we just see Quicksilver casually toss her the garment in Avengers Tower, but what you may not know is that Pietro actually stole it. A deleted scene from the movie reveals that Black Widow is a little surprised seeing the new team member wearing some of her clothes. It’s a weird detail, but now its own part of Marvel history.
There was a version of Ant-Man where Mitchell Carson died in the Pym Tech Implosion
Earlier this year, director Peyton Reed revealed to me in an interview that there was an alternate ending of Ant-Man featuring Scott Lang having a showdown with Michell Carson – but apparently this was one of two ways that the production thought about wrapping up the character’s storyline. In a deleted scene from the movie, Carson is shown on the ground outside of Pym Technologies having escaped with the Cross Particles, but dying when he gets sucked into the building’s implosion. Personally, I’m happy that Carson is still in the Marvel Cinematic Universe equipped with some shrinking tech.
What Ant-Man originally did after falling on top of that taxi
In the theatrical version of Ant-Man, Scott Lang is so terrified after his first shrinking experience that he immediately returns the suit to Hank Pym – but a deleted scene shows that wasn’t always the plan. Playing out entirely in animatics, the footage on the bonus disc reveals there was going to be a scene following Lang landing on the taxi where he tried to go to a pawn shop and steal a diamond. Unfortunately for the would-be hero, these plans are halted when he is attacked by a group of carpenter ants (presumably under Hank’s control). It’s only after this experience that Lang decides he’s had enough of being the size of an insect and returns the tech to Pym’s house.
