Avengers: Endgame directors really wanted Thanos to cut off Captain America's head

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Forget his beard — Captain America almost lost his head.

During a visit to EW’s San Diego Comic-Con video studio Friday, Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo discussed a shocking plot point that they once hoped to include in the film. Late in the movie, the 2014 version of Thanos (Josh Brolin) would have massacred all the Avengers, only to then come to the present and throw the severed head of Captain America (Chris Evans) at the feet of our heroes.

“We clung to that story line for so long just for that moment of Thanos walking through a portal and dropping Captain America’s severed head,” Anthony said.

Added Joe, “We had most of the script working except for the third act, because Anthony and I were clinging to this concept that we wanted Thanos to walk up to the Avengers and throw Captain America’s head on the ground. We couldn’t give up on it, and finally we said, ‘All right, what if we don’t do that, can we find another way into the third act?’ And that’s when it turned into what it is now.”

The brothers dismissed the notion that the twist would have been too dark, with Anthony pointing out, “Thanos is a rough dude.”

To hear more about Avengers: Endgame, and specifically the attempt to give Evans a fake beard, watch the video above.

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