Avengers: Endgame’s all-female A-Force team-up scene almost included another Black Panther character, Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o). One of the benefits of the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover was getting to see different characters interact who hadn’t before. Both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame included interactions of this kind, but one of the most discussed team-ups was the MCU’s female heroes joining forces at the end of the 22nd film.

In the heat of the final battle, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) comes back to save the day. She’s tasked with taking the Infinity Gauntlet and putting into the Quantum Tunnel so Thanos cannot get it. The only problem is that his entire army stands between her and the miniaturized tunnel in the back of Scott Lang’s van. To combat the opposing forces, Captain Marvel is soon surrounded by the MCU’s biggest female stars - with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) being an obvious exception.

The lineup that came to Captain Marvel’s aid instead featured Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Okoye (Danai Gurira), Shuri (Letitia Wright), and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). However, concept art by Andy Park from The Art of Avengers: Endgame shows that the team could’ve had an additional member in Nakia.

While Nakia is shown (in the background) in this concept art for the all-female scene, there were never any reports that Lupita Nyong’o was in discussions to return for Avengers: Endgame. Nakia is not seen in either of the two Avengers films, but also isn’t even mentioned. However, this concept art is a great reminder of her absence in the movie, as she’s one of the most prominent female heroes around in the MCU that isn’t part of the battle. If an A-Force movie happens though, hopefully, Nakia will be part of that lineup.

But, where has Nakia been during the last several years in the MCU? To this point, we still do not know whether she was a snap victim or not. She was last seen in Black Panther attending T’Challa’s meeting with the United Nations in Vienna and was set up to lead Wakanda’s outreach program. But this concept art for Avengers: Endgame points to a time when it was considered to have her join the final battle, despite not being in Infinity War’s Wakanda fight - unless that was also planned at one point. We don’t know why they decided not to use Nakia in these movies, but perhaps Lupita was simply too busy to make the scheduling work. Now, it will be up to Black Panther 2 to show fans what Nakia was up to during Avengers: Endgame instead of appearing in this scene, if she returns for the MCU sequel.

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  • Black Widow Release Date: 2021-07-09 The Eternals Release Date: 2021-11-05 Shang Chi Release Date: 2021-09-03 Doctor Strange 2 Release Date: 2022-05-06 Thor: Love and Thunder Release Date: 2022-07-08 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Release Date: 2022-11-11