The Real Reason Carrie Coon Didn't Return As Proxima Midnight For Marvel's Avengers: Endgame

Carrie Coon has had herself quite the career, from starring in one of the most acclaimed shows in recent memory in the form of "The Leftovers" to working with legends like Steven Spielberg in movies like "The Post," she's accomplished much. Coon also voiced Proxima Midnight in "Avengers: Infinity War," making her part of one of the biggest movies of all time. While she didn't return in "Avengers: Endgame," it turns out Marvel wanted her to. So, what happened? It turns out her reason is rather understandable.

On a recent episode of "The Big Picture" podcast, Coon's husband, actor Tracy Letts, dished some details on the situation. According to Letts, Marvel Studios wanted Coon to return in "Endgame." The problem? They weren't going to pay her more money for her services. Here's what Letts had to say about it:

"I believe [Marvel] went to her for the second one, and they asked her to be in the second one. And she said, 'Well, the first one is the most successful movie ever made. Are you going to pay me any more money?' And they said, 'No. We're not going to pay you any more money.'"

Indeed, "Infinity War" made over $2 billion at the global box office, and it remains one of only a handful of movies to ever accomplish that feat. It stands to reason that any actor being asked to take part in a sequel to such a resounding success would like to participate in that success. That's not how the brass at Marvel saw it, apparently.

"She said, 'Wow, you're not going to pay me any more money, then I don't think I'm going to do it,'" Letts added. "And they said, 'Well, you should feel yourself fortunate to be part of the Marvel Universe.' So she declined."

This seems infuriating, particularly when a guy like Robert Downey Jr. was making $40 million per movie in "Civil War" and "Age of Ultron," with those figures growing by the time "Infinity War" rolled around. Nobody is expecting Marvel Studios and/or Disney to pony up crash dough for a star to do voiceover for a relatively minor character in the grand scheme of things, but to hide behind the whole "you should feel fortunate" argument is maddening.

"We would've made a bigger deal out of this, but it would have involved us watching the movies and we weren't going to do that," Letts added. Granted, this is just Letts relaying this all secondhand. Surely Marvel would have their own version of events. It's also worth mentioning that Coon did voice Proxima Midnight in an episode of the animated series "What If...?" in 2021. 

In any case, Coon decided not to continue her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While that might have been viewed as a bold decision, it's one that paid off. In the years since, Coon has appeared in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," "Boston Strangler," "The Gilded Age," and most recently "The White Lotus" season 3 on HBO. Needless to say, things worked out just fine for Coon in the end.

You can grab "Avengers: Infinity War" on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD from Amazon.