The Marvel Cinematic Universe came close to including even more cameos in Phase 4, as a handful of major appearances were cut from the many movies and Disney+ shows. The interconnectivity of the MCU continues to increase as Marvel Studios moves beyond the Infinity Saga. Even as new characters are introduced to the shared universe, there are many avenues to connect them to the larger storylines Kevin Feige is weaving.
MCU cameos have been a staple of Marvel Studios' method of building its shared universe since the beginning, as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) debuted in Iron Man's post-credits scene and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) cameoed in The Incredible Hulk. Marvel's knack for including these appearances has only grown, with most of their "solo" projects even including massive characters for major roles. Phase 4 has doubled down on the connections, as viewers saw Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' post-credits, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Blade (Mahershala Ali) voice cameo in Eternals' post-credits. For all of the cameos that work out, though, there are many other ideas that do not. Marvel Studios creatives are always looking for ways to use established characters and those from the comics that have yet to join the MCU. In some cases, this even includes filming scenes that are left on the cutting room floor. With over a dozen projects released so far, the list of Marvel cameos cut from MCU Phase 4 is quite expansive.
Doctor Strange - WandaVision
Marvel's first Disney+ series was the subject of much speculation about who would and would not appear, but it was widely believed that Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) would cameo in WandaVision. Most were shocked to watch the nine-episode Disney+ series and never see the sorcerer, especially as Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) put an entire town under her spells. The original plan was for Doctor Strange to appear in WandaVision and be revealed as the creator of the commercials in Wanda's broadcast. However, Kevin Feige later led a push to delete Strange's cameo in order to keep the focus on Scarlet Witch's story.
Captain America - Falcon & The Winter Soldier
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was going to appear in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier originally too. The transfer of Captain America's title and shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was made clear in Avengers: Endgame, but the Disney+ series showcased Falcon's journey to truly understanding what it meant to be Captain America. This included a few references to Steve and what happened to the original Star Spangled Man, but Chris Evans never appeared. He did not film a Captain America cameo for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but showrunner Malcolm Spellman indicated in interviews that it was discussed.
Spider-Man - Falcon & The Winter Soldier
There was also thought about putting Spider-Man (Tom Holland) in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Many viewers pointed out how the New York superhero could have aided the MCU's new Captain America during the finale. It is unclear how seriously a Spider-Man cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was considered, but Spellman did tease there was a discussion. The reason for this cut MCU Phase 4 cameo is said to be Kevin Feige's insistence that such appearances need to be organic. Despite the fun on-screen dynamic between Spider-Man, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), there was not a strong enough story reason for Sony and Marvel Studios to work together to pull off another Tom Holland MCU appearance.
Iron Man - Black Widow
Despite his death in Avengers: Endgame, there were considerations to have Iron Man appear in Black Widow. Scarlett Johansson's long-awaited solo movie took place during the events of Captain America: Civil War, which opened the door for Robert Downey Jr.'s possible return. It was reported that Tony Stark would be in Black Widow in some form, but it was unclear if that was going to be with old footage or require Downey to film something. Marvel Studios ultimately cut Iron Man's Black Widow cameo and are very hesitant to use the billionaire in any form during Phase 4.
Rocket Raccoon - Loki
Rocket Raccoon's MCU Phase 4 cameo was also cut by Marvel Studios. Concept art for Loki revealed that the Guardians of the Galaxy character was meant to appear, kind of. It was not confirmed that the raccoon would be a variant of Rocket or if it would instead be a similarly modified trash panda. If it happened like in the art, Rocket's cameo would have seen him appear in the Time Variance Authority check-in process alongside Tom Hiddleston's Loki, a Skrull, and other beings who threatened to break the Sacred Timeline.
Deadpool & Proxima Midnight - Shang-Chi
Marvel Studios also loosely toyed with the idea of including Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Thanos' daughter Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon) in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The concept art for Shang-Chi showed the two fighting in the underground Ten Rings fights. The fight depicted was never a direct idea from the movie's script, though, and instead just a fun idea from the concept artist. This is why Proxima Midnight is in the fight despite dying in Avengers: Infinity War. However, this simple tease of what could have been Deadpool's MCU debut still created a lot of excitement.
Kang - Eternals
Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) almost made an appearance in Eternals. The movie featured some major MCU characters in its post-credits scenes, but early ideas for alternate endings would have seen Kang arrive. Eternals writer Kaz Firpo revealed to The Wrap that the idea was for Kang to show up to "have a little conversation" with the Eternals. It is an intriguing tease based on how Loki set up the multiverse villain. Ultimately, this became another Marvel movie cameo cut from Phase 4.
The Avengers - Eternals
One of the other alternate ideas for Eternals' post-credits scenes also would have seen some of the Avengers return in a cameo. The idea was for the remaining Eternals to officially become members of the team and interact with their new teammates. It was never revealed which members of the Avengers would appear in this version of Eternals' post-credits scene, but anyone from Captain Marvel to Wong might have been in the cards before these Marvel cameo ideas were cut.
Sam Wilson - Eternals
In terms of the MCU's next Avengers team, it seems that Sam Wilson's Captain America will be part of it. That could be why Eternals almost brought Anthony Mackie back for a cameo. The movie takes place close to the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so this would have been the first movie appearance for Sam Wilson as Captain America. It is not clear if this cut Phase 4 Marvel cameo would have been part of the same Avengers-focused post-credits scene or if this was a different idea that just featured Sam Wilson. In any case, Captain America did not appear in Eternals.
America Chavez - Spider-Man: No Way Home
Phase 4 introduced audiences to America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but she was meant to have a second MCU appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Marvel Studios' original Phase 4 slate saw Doctor Strange's sequel come out before Spider-Man's multiverse adventure. When COVID-19 and other factors changed the release order, rewrites had to be made. This meant deleting America Chavez's Spider-Man: No Way Home role. Concept art for her scrapped role indicates she might have been the one to bring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's versions of Spider-Man to meet Tom Holland's.
Ant-Man - Hawkeye
Marvel did cut Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) from making a cameo in Hawkeye. Due to the real-life dynamic between Rudd and Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner, the creative team behind Hawkeye heavily considered putting Scott Lang and Clint Barton back on the same screen. The Disney+ show's ensemble cast prevented the duo from reuniting, though. All was not for Ant-Man's role in Hawkeye of course, as he notably was included during the Battle of New York section of Rogers: The Musical.
Defender Wong - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness included a variety of cameos, including variants of the main characters in the movie. This gave Benedict Cumberbatch the chance to play three different versions of Doctor Strange, while Elizabeth Olsen played multiple versions of Scarlet Witch. Marvel also planned to let Benedict Wong appear as a Defender Wong variant. This plan was revealed thanks to merchandise for Doctor Strange 2. It appears that the movie's massive reshoots and various changes ultimately led to Defender Wong becoming another cut Marvel movie cameo.
Loki - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
There were also reports that Loki would cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Marvel apparently reversed that decision. The evidence for Tom Hiddleston making another Phase 4 appearance seemed quite strong since Loki's writer Michael Waldron took over scripting duties on Doctor Strange 2 and played a massive role in establishing the rules of the multiverse. Doctor Strange and Loki have a history together thanks to Thor: Ragnarok, but the sorcerer and god of mischief did not reunite in Phase 4. It is unclear what Loki's cameo in Doctor Strange 2 would have entailed, especially as rumors circulated that Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) might have also had cameos lined up.
Balder the Brave - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
One of the biggest Marvel movie cameos cut from Phase 4 would have likely seen Daniel Craig play Balder the Brave in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It has been confirmed that Marvel seriously considered having Balder the Brave appear as a member of Earth 838's Illuminati team. Costumes were designed and concept art was made for his appearance, but travel restrictions implemented due to COVID-19 forced Marvel to scrap those plans. It was later reported that Daniel Craig was eyed for a major Doctor Strange 2 cameo before John Krasinski joined as Mister Fantastic, which likely means the former James Bond actor was meant to play Balder before his cameo was cut.
616 Mordo - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Chiwetel Ejiofor does appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Mordo, but it only comes through the multiverse when Doctor Strange visits Earth-838. However, it has been confirmed that the movie originally included 616 Mordo too. The original plan for Doctor Strange 2 under Sam Raimi included a scene where Scarlet Witch killed 616 Mordo. It was later decided to delete this scene from the sequel, giving the MCU's regular Mordo a chance to return in the future instead of dying in this Phase 4 cameo appearance.
Ghost Rider & Magneto - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
There were also rumors that Marvel cut Phase 4 cameos for Ghost Rider and Magneto from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Anyone officially involved in the movie has yet to back up these claims, but that did not stop rumors from circulating that the Spirit of Vengeance and the X-Men villain were meant to appear. Both likely would have been part of the Earth-838 Illuminati team and died fighting Scarlet Witch.
Black Knight - Moon Knight
Marvel Studios also cut a Black Knight cameo from Moon Knight. Kit Harington debuted as Dane Whitman in Eternals, and the movie's use of him paved the way for a possible meet-up with Marc Spector. Moon Knight's head writer Jeremy Slater confirmed they considered a Dane cameo since he also works in a UK museum. The Black Knight cameo in Moon Knight was scrapped eventually as the writer did not want to make viewers angry by using Dane and not letting him suit up again.
Eternals - Moon Knight
Moon Knight almost featured multiple Eternals for Phase 4 cameos too. It has been confirmed that there were plans for a flashback sequence where the Eternals would have encountered one of Khonshu's prior Avatars. The scene would occur in ancient Egypt as Khonshu's Avatar dealt with Ammit's Avatar, Alexander the Great. Moon Knight's cut cameos were going to show the Eternals work with Khonshu's Avatar to take down Ammit. It was not confirmed which members of the Eternals would appear, but Slater was most interested in Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) making an appearance.
Eitri - Thor: Love & Thunder
Thor: Love and Thunder cut multiple cameos from its final runtime, including Eitri (Peter Dinklage). Following his debut in Avengers: Infinity War, it was rumored that Eitri would return in some capacity as part of Thor's Phase 4 story. He is not in the movie, but Christian Bale confirmed he shot scenes as Gorr the God Butcher with Eitri. This indicates that Gorr paid a visit to Eitri, likely due to his ability to create a weapon that could harness the Bifrost, which opened the gate to Eternity. Eitri's cut Thor: Love and Thunder cameo was later cut despite being filmed due to the film's pacing.
The Grandmaster - Thor: Love & Thunder
Grandmaster also had a Phase 4 Marvel movie cameo cut from Thor: Love and Thunder. Jeff Goldblum's character from Thor: Ragnarok was meant to appear in the sequel and even filmed scenes with Gorr the God Butcher. This indicates that Gorr may have killed Grandmaster in the original cut of Thor: Love and Thunder. It is unclear why Gorr would encounter Goldblum's MCU character, but his scrapped cameo means he can still return in the future.
Lena Headey's Unnamed Cameo - Thor: Love & Thunder
It was also revealed that Lena Headey's cameo in Marvel Phase 4 was cut. The former Game of Thrones star secretly filmed a cameo for Thor: Love and Thunder as a new character for the MCU. It was not revealed which character from the comics Headey was set to play or how she factored into the film. Speculation suggests she would be another Valkyrie, possibly even a prior love interest for Tessa Thompson's character. Since Thor: Love and Thunder deleted Lena Headey's cameo, her mystery character's debut will have to wait.
Russell Crowe Almost Played Satan In Thor: Love & Thunder
Russell Crowe does appear in Thor: Love and Thunder as Zeus, but it has also been revealed that Marvel had a different character in mind for him at first. His original and cut Phase 4 cameo was as Marvel's version of Satan based on concept art for the movie. Russell Crowe's Thor: Love and Thunder role was eventually changed to make him the powerful Greek god and father of Hercules (Brett Goldstein), but it points to a very different MCU appearance for the Oscar-winning actor was considered.