The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a vast narrative that grows more expansive and complex with
each movie.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo managed to work a healthy chunk of that universe into
Avengers: Endgame, but there isn't always room for everyone.
As much as we may have wanted to see them, here's why we didn't see these characters
in Endgame.
Stellan Skarsgård’s Dr. Erik Selvig can't boast any magical powers or high-tech suits
of armor, but he was integral early on the MCU.
Appearing in the first two Thor films as well as the first two Avengers movies, we last
saw Selvig in 2015's Age of Ultron helping Thor recapture his vision of the Infinity
Stones.
A week before Endgame's premiere, Skarsgård confirmed he wasn’t part of the cast.
"I've done four [Marvel films] and they have me contracted for five and they haven't called
me yet.
They usually call me when they need some weird plot to be explained in a quasi-scientific
way."
Selvig entered the MCU as part of Thor's entourage, but that was before the game-changing Thor:
Ragnarok, which was the first entry of the Thor franchise to not involve him, Natalie
Portman, or Kat Dennings.
It was also unquestionably the most successful in that franchise.
Ragnarok's success made Skarsgård part of a Thor paradigm that the MCU may not be interested
in anymore.
As soon as it was revealed that Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage would appear in Avengers:
infinity War, there was wild speculation about who the actor would play.
A brief exchange in a preview clip left fans incorrectly believing that Dinklage was voicing
Black Order member Corvus Glaive.
Dinklage was instead revealed as Eitri the Dwarf, the forgemaster of Nidavellir who made
Mjolnir and whom Thor seeks out for a new weapon.
He doesn't appear in Endgame, and we don't even know if Eitri survives the decimation.
Whether he does or not, he'd still be left alone on Nidavellir since all his dwarven
brethren were killed before the snap even happened.
"Then he killed everyone anyway.
All except me."
Presumably, with Stormbreaker made and the first battle with Thanos fought and lost,
Eitri's work in the Infinity Saga was over.
But it would be gratifying to find out how the forgemaster is faring.
When Steve Rogers and Tony Stark lose the Tesseract to Loki and are forced to go back
to 1970 to get their hands on the Space Stone, we get to see some old friends.
Tony is reunited with a young Howard Stark and we even get a brief conversation between
Howard and Edwin Jarvis from Agent Carter.
Peggy Carter herself is accounted for as well when Cap notices her through an office window.
And a digitally de-aged Michael Douglas appears as Hank Pym when Rogers visits his lab.
Conspicuously absent is Toby Jones’ Dr. Arnim Zola.
Viewers might not even have taken note of the absence, but when Howard first runs into
Tony, he's looking for the Hydra veteran.
Zola likely doesn't appear because it wouldn't serve the plot of an already crowded film.
There's also a convenient narrative explanation for his absence.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Zola A.I. explains why he lives in a computer:
"In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis.
Science could not save my body."
Whatever that diagnosis was, it's possible he was already suffering its effects in 1970,
which could go along way toward explaining why he wasn't at work that day.
To capture the Power Stone, Nebula and War Machine travel to Morag in 2014, just as Peter
Quill was about to nab it in the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Unlike that earlier film, Djimon Hounsou’s Kree warrior Korath doesn't show up with his
soldiers to attempt to get the Orb back from Quill.
Narratively, the reason for Korath's absence can be explained by an unfortunate development
for the Avengers.
Sending Nebula back to 2014 has the unintended consequence of alerting the Thanos of that
time what the Avengers are up to.
Once Thanos' forces detect the signal from the 2019 Nebula, they set course for Morag
and eventually capture her.
So while Korath who works for Ronan, who is working for Thanos is heading to Morag, Thanos
himself is en route, too.
The Kree warrior wouldn't be dumb enough to try to get in Thanos' way once he learns he
shares a destination with his boss's boss.
The trio Hank Pym calls the "Wombats" in Ant-Man skilled storyteller Luis, played by Michael
Peña; Kurt, played by David Dastmalchian; and Dave, played by T.I., don’t show up
in the film.
You could argue Luis at least is there in spirit, as we hear his famous musical car
horn several times, but the group themselves choose to, as they say, "back it up."
While Luis has proven he's got a punch you do not want to be on the receiving end of,
neither Kurt nor Dave have shown us they'd be very effective against alien soldiers or
other superpowered baddies, so the Wombats would be little help against Thanos' forces.
Still, an alternate version of Endgame that's simply Luis' retelling of the events would
be a great time.
When Thor and Rocket go back to the events of Thor: The Dark World to retrieve the Aether,
the thunder god has what proves to be a much-needed reunion with his mother Frigga who, later
that day, is fated to lose her life.
Though she appears in both of the first two Thor films, Frigga might have wound up getting
more more lines and screen time in Endgame than in the two earlier films combined.
Thor doesn't get to see his father Odin, however.
At this point in the MCU's timeline, Odin is in denial about his son's place in Asgard
and the return of the Dark Elves, and soon he'll be in denial about his chances against
the Dark Elves.
When Frigga speaks with Thor, her husband is likely meeting with his generals about
the invasion that won't happen.
The absence of Jaimie Alexander’s Sif in Avengers: Endgame, is an indicator we've seen
our last of the character in the MCU.
Alexander is also conspicuously absent from 2017's Thor: Ragnarok.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige explained that Loki, disguised as Odin, wouldn't want
Thor's closest allies to threaten his rule, so when he accuses Heimdall of treason, he
also exiles Sif from Asgard.
The real-world reason for her absence was much simpler: scheduling.
According to Alexander, Marvel waited until the last minute to ask her to appear in Ragnarok,
at which point Marvel's shooting schedule conflicted with that of Alexander’s NBC
series Blindspot.
As of Endgame, Sif is still a no-show.
She isn't with the refugees in New Asgard, and she doesn't appear at the final battle
with the resurrected heroes.
By the end of the film Thor is headed back to the stars, so it's possible we might see
a reunion.
But as the years tick by it feels less and less likely that one of the MCU's fiercest
warrior women will return.
Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, is killed by Loki in 2012's Avengers, but like a true
Marvel hero he's resurrected in time to star in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
But if you didn't watch Marvel's TV shows, you'd never know that.
Considering how famously fractured the movie and television sides of the MCU have been,
Coulson has been cinematically dead since Avengers.
Still, ever since his traumatic televised revival, fans of the MCU have wondered whether
Coulson would ever get the chance to let his old friends know he was back.
It sure seems like Endgame is just about the last chance Coulson has to give the Avengers
an FYI.
But Coulson's nowhere to be seen in Endgame, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fifth season
ends with Coulson learning he is dying.
He chooses to retire to Tahiti with Melinda May.
To further complicate things, in season 6, Coulson will be dead and Gregg will play a
new character.
To include Coulson in Endgame, the filmmakers would need to explain Coulson's confusing
status to film audiences, along with everything else on their to-do list for Endgame.
All parties probably agreed it was best for him to stay on the TV side of things for now.
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