Occasionally, major moments seen in MCU movie trailers don't make it in the movies themselves. Whether they're prominent money shots, a particular line of dialogue, red herrings, or a scene that didn't survive the editing stage, sometimes epic trailer moments get cut. There are also intentional shots meant purely to market the film itself and nothing more.
Since the very beginning of the MCU, there have been sequences seen in trailers that have not survived to be in the actual film's release. While some are arguably inconsequential, there are others that some fans may have wished were kept in their respective movies. Here are 15 examples of MCU trailer shots that never made the final cut.
15 Bruce Banner and Doc Sampson Meet
Dating back all the way to the MCU's first year, the first teaser trailer for 2008's The Incredible Hulk featured a conversation between Edward Norton's Bruce Banner and Ty Burrell's Doctor Leonard Samson (an ally of the Hulk's in the original comics). In the teaser, they talk about Bruce's conflicting personality with allusions to Banner's greener and more monstrous half. However, Sampson and Banner don't actually meet in the final cut of the film, though Sampson was still featured in the movie as Betty Ross' love interest in the years while Bruce was a fugitive.
14 Black Widow Fires Iron Man's Gauntlet
One of the trailers for 2010's Iron Man 2 features an added sequence at Tony Stark's birthday party. Getting incredibly drunk as an unhealthy means of coping with his seemingly impending death, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) puts on his armor and recklessly starts shooting watermelons and glass sculptures above his guests' heads. However, the trailers featured a moment where Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) would have put on one of Tony's gauntlets. Instead, Natasha Romanoff is nowhere to be found during the actual party after helping Stark pick out a watch in the theatrical version.
13 Guardians of the Galaxy Prisoner Lineup
Following their arrest in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, each future Guardian is given a profile and expositional background as two Nova Corps officers go over their individual rap sheets. This sequence was also a big part of the trailers, as the Guardians of the Galaxy was a much lesser-known property than other Marvel teams at the time (even in the comics). However, the shot where they're all lined up together is not in the theatrical cut of the first movie that truly explored the cosmic side of the MCU.
12 Ultron's Hand In Molten Metal
One of the most dynamic shots in Avengers: Age of Ultron's first teaser trailer was of Ultron, the advanced AI murder robot created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner who believed peace could only come through killing the Avengers and ending humanity. The close-up of his hand covered in molten metal was quite striking and intimidating, but it was nowhere to be seen in the actual film itself. However, it's likely that this shot might have been part of a cut sequence where Ultron was forging his upgraded vibranium armor just before the attack on Sokovia.
11 Woman At the Water of Sight In Age of Ultron
After the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) showed the Avengers their greatest fears in Age of Ultron, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) experienced a dark vision of the future. As a result, Thor briefly left the Avengers following their first encounter with Ultron and the Maximoff twins, seeking Doctor Erik Selvig's help to locate the Water of Sight, a pool from Norse mythology that allowed the God of Thunder to experience the vision again with more clarity, leading to his discovery that the Infinity Stones were being collected. However, the trailers for Age of Ultron featured a woman at the pool who was not in the theatrical cut, likely one of the Norse Fates known as a Norn.
10 Scott Lang Doesn't Like The Ant-Man Name
In the initial trailers for 2015's Ant-Man starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, the original Ant-Man Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) tells Scott that he needs his help, wanting him to become the next Ant-Man in the MCU. In the trailers, Lang's only question was if it was too late to change the name, though this particular bit of self-deprecating humor was ultimately taken out of the final cut, perhaps being viewed as a touch too self-deprecating. After all, Ant-Man ended up receiving more than enough flak for being the literal little guy, despite his impressive ability to become Giant-Man in Captain America: Civil War.
9 Yellowjacket Replaces Falcon in Ant-Man
Additional trailers for 2015's Ant-Man also featured matching shots of Lang's Ant-Man seemingly talking to Yellowjacket about whether he's heard of him. After seeing the full movie itself, audiences know that this was done to hide Anthony Mackie's surprise cameo in Ant-Man as Sam Wilson's Falcon. Taking place at the Avengers' brand-new headquarters upstate, Falcon was the hero whom Scott was actually talking to in the middle of the movie, as his encounter with Yellowjacket doesn't happen until the film's third act.
8 Spider-Man and Iron Man Team-Up Shot
Spider-Man: Homecoming was Peter Parker's first solo movie in the MCU following his debut appearance in Civil War. Having been recruited by Tony Stark, Iron Man would continue to be Spider-Man's mentor going forward, and this included his own appearances in Homecoming. As a result, the "money shot" of the duo flying and swinging side by side was heavily used in the movie's marketing, the perfect representation of how exciting it was to have the iconic Webslinger in the greater universe of heroes thanks to Sony and Marvel Studios' partnership. However, the specific shot was only meant to do just that (rather than being in the theatrical cut itself).
7 Hela Destroys Thor's Hammer In An Alley
Initial trailers for 2017's Thor: Ragnarok depicted Hela's freedom in a wholly different location than what's seen in the theatrical release. In the actual movie, Hela's debut takes place in Norway following the death of Odin as she faces both Thor and his brother Loki. However, the exact same scene was originally set in a New York alley where Hela destroys Thor's hammer before using the Bifrost to take the throne of Asgard. Having been changed in post-production, it was confirmed that Taika Waititi desired a more meaningful setting for Odin's farewell to his sons and the Goddess of Death's introduction.
6 Loki's Knife-Flipping Asgard Arrival
The Thor: Ragnarok trailers also featured two money shots that didn't make it in the movie either. The first was Loki flipping knives at the sanctuary where the Asgardians sought refuge from Hela, though he was never there in the final cut. Likewise, there was also a Revengers team shot of Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, and the Hulk on the Bifrost which also wasn't in the theatrical release (as Hulk was too busy fighting Fenris and Surtur).
