The MCU’s Soul Stone Almost Had a Surprising Identity
The following post contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame.
It can be hard to remember now that Avengers: Endgame is a year old and we’ve been in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic for approximately 780 years, but before the last two Avengers movies, there were a ton of fan theories about where the Infinity War would lead, and how exactly Thanos would find all of the Infinity Stones.
One of the most popular pre-release theories was that the Soul Stone would eventually reveal itself in the possession of Adam Warlock. Warlock has a long history in Marvel Comics with the Infinity Stones (or Infinity Gems, as they were previously known), and his MCU debut was teased at the end of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Warlock never did appear in Phase Three of the MCU, but during yesterday’s anniversary watch-along of Endgame with directors Joe and Anthony Russo, someone asked whether he was ever considered as a possible location — or perhaps even identity of — the Soul Stone.
The answer to that question, despite all the rumors, was no — but interestingly, the Russos revealed there was an Avenger who was considered as the Soul Stone... Captain America.
Presumably, the thinking was Captain America is the heart and soul of the Avengers — or perhaps is the most soulful of the characters? — but clearly beyond the metaphorical meaning it would have been very confusing for the audience. (“A person is also a magic stone? Like, the whole time?”) Plus, placing the Stone on that distant alien planet, and inventing the logic where one must trade a soul for the Soul Stone, enabled those powerful scenes where Thanos sacrificed his daughter and Black Widow and Hawkeye had to fight to “win” the right to die for it. In the end, that was definitely the right call.
Avengers: Endgame is available now on home video.
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