The first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was unprecedented at the time of its creation, as a shared universe in cinema hadn't been revisited in decades. However, the culmination film, The Avengers, showed that connecting multiple franchises could yield impressive results. But to do this, it also had to balance a wide demographic, meaning the movie had to have enough for younger and older audiences.
The Avengers wasn't afraid of violence and had many brutal scenes, including a man's eye being drilled out of his skull (off-screen) and multiple people being shot by Hawkeye's arrows. But the most tragic death came when Phil Coulson was stabbed in the back by Loki. However, as revealed by Kevin Feige, it was explained that the original death nearly made The Avengers the first R-rated MCU movie.
How Was Coulson Originally Going To Die in The Avengers?
In The Avengers, Loki's escape from the Helicarrier was orchestrated from the start and allowed him to trick Thor and trap him in his cell. From there, he began to monologue to Thor before being interrupted by Coulson and his new weapon, a gun that fired the same energy as the Destroyer armor. But before he could use it, Loki used an illusion to stab him in the back. While shocking, this death was almost much bloodier.
According to Feige, the initial cuts of The Avengers kept coming back with an R-rating by the MPAA. This was because, when Coulson was stabbed, the blade would always be shown going from his back and out through his chest. This act alone was enough to merit the rating, which would've greatly hindered the audience the movie was going for. As a result, Coulson's death was altered so that a stabbing sound was heard with Loki standing behind Coulson. Then a quick cut to Thor's reaction, followed by Coulson falling to the ground with blood on his shirt, completed the tragic scene.
Coulson's Original Death Would've Changed the MCU Forever
Had Coulson's death remained as the original version and the same success was found even with an R-rating, the MCU would've changed forever. Even now, the MCU has worked its way slowly to releasing an R-rated movie. With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 using the F-bomb and Deadpool 3 being R, that time is coming sooner than ever. However, had it come earlier, movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier might've been more mature than ever. Due to its political thriller direction, there could've been much more violent kills and interrogations that could've separated Steve from the brutality of the present day.
On the other hand, Doctor Strange could've been more horrifying as well, having Strange take on enemies that killed more freely and even more blood to showcase this. Plus, seeing Strange's deaths against Dormammu might've been even more unsettling. Nevertheless, The Avengers played the safe route, which allowed for even more movies and TV shows. Now, as the franchise finally becomes more mature, it has decades of preparation to do it right. But it couldn't have been possible had it not been for The Avengers editing its most important death.