A brand new image offers fans a closer look at Avengers: Age of Ultron's Captain Marvel stand-in. Brie Larson debuted the hero in her origin movie, Captain Marvel, from directors Anna Fleck and Ryan Boden only last year. Prior to that, there wasn't any hint of her existing except for the appearance of her insignia in Avengers: Infinity War's post-credit scene. However, fans know that there were plans to tease her arrival as early as the second Avengers movie from 2015.

Following the success of 2012's The Avengers, Marvel Studios' next ensemble project was met with much anticipation. Aside from the original six heroes, the film also introduced fans to the new crop of Avengers with Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Vision (Paul Bettany). As some of founding members scatter following the defeat of Ultron, Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) spearheaded the training of the new roster, which originally would've included Carol Danvers.

Related: Captain Marvel Had A Secret Agents Of SHIELD Connection

A variation of Age of Ultron's parting shot where Captain America and Black Widow meets their contemporaries featured a blonde-haired woman who was supposed to be a stand-in for Captain Marvel. The deleted scene was never released until it was included in the Infinity Saga box set. Now, a closer look at the actress who was going to double for Danvers makes its way online. Check out the image shared by Reddit user spiderjj45 below:

Captain Marvel Stand-in appears in cut scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The idea to introduce Captain Marvel in Age of Ultron came from director Joss Whedon, however, Kevin Feige was against the idea since he didn't want to flippantly drop her in a scene just for the sake of giving fans something to talk about. So, the scene was ultimately scrapped. Yet, the alternate scene was still shot - an indication that Marvel Studios went back and forth with regard to the idea. In hindsight, this was for the better considering the film was already packed as it is, introducing a hero who's supposed to be pivotal in the future of MCU in that manner would more likely be a divisive creative choice.

What's interesting to know is whether Whedon had something in mind for Captain Marvel beyond her Age of Ultron cameo. Debuting her in the movie would've obviously significantly changed the trajectory of her character. Was Marvel Studios going to give Carol Danvers her own movie much earlier than they did? That's quite improbable since her standalone was already confirmed for release before Avengers 2 rolled out. Captain Marvel was crafted in a way to establish the hero had been in the MCU long before Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) announced he was Iron Man. In fact, she's the inspiration behind Nick Fury's (Samuel L. Jackson) Avengers Initiative. Her standalone introduction established that the Skrulls had long been on Earth, which presumably would be the foundation of the reported Secret Invasion TV series. While the MCU prequel created some glaring plot holes, seeing her in Avengers: Age of Ultron without a proper plan for her future, and even a cast actress would've resulted in more franchise retcons.

More: Marvel's Biggest MCU Retcons

Source: /spiderjjr45

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