‘Avengers: Endgame’ editor reveals how Black Widow’s huge scene was dramatically changed to make it more intimate

Marvel Studios

Warning: Major spoilers below if you have not seen "Avengers: Endgame."
"Endgame" coeditor Matthew Schmidt explained how Black Widow’s death scene was drastically changed in reshoots.
Originally, she and Hawkeye were to battle Thanos and his soldiers on Vormir before Black Widow sacrificed herself so her fellow Avenger could obtain the Soul Stone.
"It was reshot to make it more intimate between Clint and Natasha," Schmidt told Business Insider.
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One of the big moments of "Avengers: Endgame" — which audiences are still trying to get over emotionally — is the death of Scarlett Johansson’s character, Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), who dies so the Avengers can obtain the Soul Stone.

As all the superheroes split up to different moments in time and embark on a "time heist" to get all the Infinity Stones, Romanoff and Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton (Hawkeye) team up to nab the Soul Stone, which is located on the planet Vormir. Realizing the only way to obtain the stone is by one of them sacrificing themselves and jumping off a cliff, each one tries to stop the other from taking the plunge until finally Clint can’t stop Natasha from doing it.

It’s a scene that stays with you the rest of the movie. But that’s not originally how Black Widow was to go out.

"Endgame" coeditor Matthew Schmidt told Business Insider that originally the scene on Vormir involved Thanos and a lot more fighting.

"On script and what we first shot was an excellent scene," Schmidt said. "Thanos and his soldiers show up on Vormir and a small battle ensues between them and Natasha and Clint. Natasha decides to run off the cliff. Clint tries to stop her while also fending off the attack."

Schmidt said that test audiences had no objections to the scene, but over time directors Anthony and Joe Russo and the other creative members behind "Endgame" decided to change things up drastically.

"It was reshot to make it more intimate between Clint and Natasha, which fully worked in the end version of the movie," Schmidt said. "We just came up with a better idea, something that serviced Natasha a little bit more."

And you haven’t seen the last of Johansson as Black Widow. The actress is getting paid a reported $15 million to star in a long-awaited standalone movie for the character, which is currently in development.

"Avengers: Endgame" is currently playing in theaters.

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Source: Business Insider – jguerrasio@businessinsider.com (Jason Guerrasio)