Marvel Scrapped 45-Minute Epic Intro to 'Avengers: Infinity War'

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are likely to remember Avengers: Infinity War as one of the most exciting superhero movies in recent history. However, an unexpected revelation by Infinity War characters creator, Jim Starlin, shows the movie could have been even better. Most fans and critics agree that Infinity War's opening minutes are some of the most captivating in recent action movies. Still, a 45-minute sequence planned for the film was never released. The scene would have featured Thanos destroying the Nova Corps to retrieve the Power Stone, and would've made for an impressive prologue.

In a recent interview with Near Mint Condition on YouTube that was covered by IGN, Starlin revealed that he not only toured the set during production but also received a full rundown of the plot from the scriptwriters - Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Unfortunately, the scene of Thanos obtaining the first gem was scrapped because the filmmakers didn't have the budget for the effects required. Starlin explained, "They shot it, but they never wanted to spend the money on the effects, and they didn't want the movie to be as long as Endgame was. They didn't realize it was going to be quite the hit it was."

As Starlin alludes to, in the final version of Infinity War, Thanos has already captured the Power Stone and is hunting for the rest. It was unsurprising that Marvel was hesitant to spend the extra cash and suffer potential time constraints. Though audiences would merely have to imagine what the sequence would have looked like, we did get a glimpse in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, where Star-Lord and crew fought against Ronan the Accuser’s assault.

Despite Marvel's decision, Infinity War went on to be one of the highest-grossing movies ever, with Endgame coming in a close third. If Disney chooses, it could add the 45-minute sequence during post-production, making the explosive opening even better. It remains to be seen whether or not Disney+ will include this deleted scene in future releases. It's possible they could include it in a collector's edition or as a DLC, allowing fans to enjoy the movie's full content at their leisure.