Avengers Endgame snubs: 11 MCU characters who SHOULD have been in the movie

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME.

With everyone from Natalie Portman to the kid from Iron Man 3 returning, the Marvel smash had a truly phenomenal cast list.

And as the team travelled back in time to collect the Infinity Stones, there were excuses to rope in countless old faces – such as Rene Russo as Thor’s mother Frigga, and Tom Hiddleston as fan favourite Loki.

But as the Infinity Stone reached its heart-pounding finale, who were we missing?

Vision (Paul Bettany)

Paul Bettany’s Vision was destroyed in Avengers: Infinity War because of the Mind Stone lodged in his head – so it wasn’t really a surprise to see him absent from Endgame, especially as his death was not part of the reversible Snap.

But he has been a huge part of the MCU timeline; being the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. before finally taking up a human-like form. Seeing him in some capacity at the end of the road might have been a nice touch, somehow. Even in voice form when Tony goes back to 2012.

Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp)

From a storyline perspective, you can appreciate why it would have been very murky for Sharon to return – especially given how Captain America’s story ends, and the fact that Sharon is Peggy’s niece.

But Emily VanCamp proved herself a proper action-ready star in Captain America: Civil War, so even seeing her briefly on that final battlefield could have been a nice touch.

Dr Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard)

Selvig’s headshot was seen at the start of the movie as one of the missing; indicating he didn’t survive the Snap.

Given that Stellan Skarsgard was integral to those Battle of New York sequences set in 2012, it was a shame to not see him there to round off his story.

Heimdall (Idris Elba)

Like Vision, Heimdall died in Infinity War in a way that did involve the Snap.

But Thor’s return to Asgard might have given Idris Elba’s character one last chance for a return.

Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson)

Fury technically was in the movie: he had a wordless cameo right at the very end, at Tony Stark’s funeral.

But Fury has been such a prominent fixture of the MCU since the very beginning: seeing him kick some butt elsewhere would have been very fitting.

Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o)

It’s likely that the super-in-demand Lupita Nyong’o simply wasn’t available to shoot more scenes as the Black Panther favourite.

Nakia is hugely important in Wakanda – so perhaps she was doing some very important work there whilst the likes of Okoye were more involved in the events of the movie.

Everett Ross (Martin Freeman)

Everett was a key player in Black Panther and also popped up in Civil War, but it seems he wasn’t quite relevant enough to insert into the final showdown. Perhaps, if he survived the Snap, he was off fighting crime elsewhere.

Luis (Michael Peña)

Michael Peña’s character is one of the funniest supporting players in the MCU – maybe, if he survived the Snap, Scott Lang could have hunted him down for a speedy monologue when he got out of the Quantum Realm.

Nova Prime (Glenn Close)

OK, there really was no storyline-related reason for Glenn Close’s character to be in this movie.

But given the presence of Hollywood royalty like Angela Bassett, Marisa Tomei and Michelle Pfeiffer in silent cameos, the addition of Close somehow – perhaps as Rhodey and Nebula encountered Past Peter Quill – would have been very fun.

Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams)

Rachel McAdams’ MCU debut in Doctor Strange left her somewhat under-used, and fans are keen for her to become Night Nurse — as she does in the comics – in a potential sequel.

When Bruce Banner went back in time to collect the Time Stone from the Ancient One, he was meeting her well before she first met Stephen Strange; meaning he could have been in a relationship with Christine at that point. Could we have seen a glimpse of it?

OK, it would have been totally unnecessary in an already three-hour-long movie, but hey – you can never have enough Rachel McAdams.

Betty Ross (Liv Tyler)

Perhaps a casualty of Edward Norton’s exit after one movie, we never saw Betty Ross again after The Incredible Hulk in 2008.

But after the Russos said she died off-screen in the Snap, perhaps it would have been a nice moment for Liv Tyler and for fans if she could have been wriggled in somehow – perhaps coming face-to-face with Bruce in his reconciled Hulk form.

Avengers: Endgame is out now.