Some view it as the greatest fight sequence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Team Cap, trying to reach a Quinjet, confronts Team Iron Man on the tarmac of a major airport in Germany. Heated words are exchanged. A Spider-Man is summoned, and all hell breaks loose for a massive battle that left comic-book fans' jaws on the ground. Only, the scene almost wasn't set in an airport. It almost took place at an abandoned amusement park in Berlin.
This juicy detail was one of many that was revealed by Captain America: Civil War co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely at an intimate, exclusive conversation at San Diego Comic-Con. The co-writers went through every step of their process in penning hits for the MCU, including their early days on The First Avenger, with a few hints toward The Avengers: Infinity War. But they also explained that the airport scene almost wasn't the airport scene, with Stephen McFeely stating their initial idea was to set it in an abandoned amusement park. They elaborated:
McFeely: The first draft [exists] so that you can start. We got to get it out there so people see the possibilities. And then we saw [Joe Wright's film] Hanna, and we thought, 'Oh great, they used an amusement park.' People went scouting, and they thought, 'Oh, Leipzig Airport is kind of cool, andwe can get it for a day.'Markus: Also, we knew we were in Berlin, and there's an abandoned amusement park in Berlin. I don't know why! And it's terrifying looking.
When the moderator of the panel asked about any cool elements the writers had thought of involving the amusement park -- which would be an undoubtedly cool backdrop for a multi-character superhero fight -- Christopher Markus recalled:
Somebody... all I remember is somebody -- I don't think it was Giant Man -- somebody whacked Iron Man into the middle of a Ferris wheel, and it fell on him.
So that's ONE scene you were cheated out of seeing in Captain America: Civil War because of rewrites.
The fight goes a long way toward driving a wedge between Avengers members. Once colleagues, the fallout to the battle means that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) has a bone to pick with Spidey (Tom Holland), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) may never speak again, and Vision (Paul Bettany) brought some real pain to War Machine (Don Cheadle). The wounds will need to heal quickly, as The Avengers: Infinity War will reach theaters in 2018. Until then, we can only sit back and dream about Iron Man getting crushed by a Ferris wheel. Maybe they'll save that one for Iron Man 4.
