Avengers: Endgame's original time travel helmet designs were taken from another MCU movie

Avengers: Endgame
(Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

While the trip through the Quantum Realm in Avengers: Endgame may have been cool enough on its own (time travel will do that to a movie), it was the white suits that elevated it to another level. However, one of Endgame’s special effects team has revealed that the sleek helmet seen in the final movie was not their first choice, with inspiration originally coming from Guardians of the Galaxy’s take on space chic instead.

Speaking to Wired for its in-depth look at the effects of Avengers: Endgame (H/T Screen Rant), Marvel’s visual effects producer, Jen Uppendahl, revealed: “We tried very early on… the notion of the helmet being made [from] the Guardians of the Galaxy breather mesh. We have some early development with that kind of being a bubble around their head.”

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

The blue-hued mesh, which featured in outer space scenes in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, didn’t quite, what’s the word, gel with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Uppendahl stated: “The directors [Joe and Anthony Russo] were like, ‘I don’t think that’s as heroic as it could possibly look.’”

That’s… probably for the best. The bubbles make them look less like superheroes and more like SpongeBob taking a quick detour to Sandy’s house. Not the look you should be going for when you’re soon to be facing down Thanos.

Still, it’s nice to A) find out more behind the creative process of the often-overlooked side of crafting the MCU, and B) everyone makes mistakes, even Marvel.

Find out where Endgame lands on our updated list of the best superhero movies around.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Latest in Marvel Movies
Wanda in Doctor Strange
Scarlet Witch star Elizabeth Olsen is one of the first Marvel actors to say she's not in the next pair of Avengers movies
Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania
Paul Rudd is still thinking about that one Thanos and Ant-Man fan theory: "I often wonder, though, could he really have stopped Thanos in that way?"
She-Hulk on Disney Plus
Tatiana Maslany canceled a Comic Con appearance due to "filming commitments", and it could mean She-Hulk is in the next Avengers movie
Charlie Cox in Daredevil
Daredevil star Charlie Cox says keeping his Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo a secret for two years was a "nightmare"
Avengers: Doomsday directors admit it's a "difficult" movie to make but tease some great Marvel collaborators "old and new"
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom
The Russo Brothers say Robert Downey Jr. "tried to talk us into" doing another Avengers movie but they "said no" until they heard the pitch for Doomsday: "That story has to be told"
Latest in News
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Muse
Daredevil: Born Again midseason trailer teases Matt Murdock’s violent fight with Muse, including a gory scene straight from the comics
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game