Avengers: Endgame took inspiration from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for their time heist event.

Avengers: Endgame is one of the greatest Marvel movies ever to be made. Not only did it perfectly bring together all the different characters in one space without feeling like clutter, but presented a conclusive end to the decades-long saga. Just when all hope seemed lost, the movie proved that there is always a bigger picture hidden in plain sight and that one only needs to look for it.

In the case of Endgame, our heroes traveled back in time to find the lost hope. An exceptionally thrilling narrative that allows us to revisit some of our favorite moments, it was actually one Harry Potter book/movie that inspired the writer to introduce the time heist in the MCU.

Harry Potter Movie That Inspired Avengers: Endgame‘s Time Heist

The Harry Potter and Avengers franchises are two of the biggest ever in the whole cinematic landscape. Having revolutionized the fantasy and comic book genre, both franchises stand as enduring testaments to the boundless scope of human imagination and creativity. Counted among the top movie series of all time, it is a fact little known that one Harry Potter movie inspired one of the most important events in the MCU.

Avengers: Endgame introduced the concept of time-traveling, and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed that they were inspired by the third Harry Potter book/movie, Prisoner of Azkaban. Although they did seek help from Back to the Future 1 & 2 as well, it was ultimately the third movie of the wizard saga that ended up resonating with them the most.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, McFeely remarked,

I do love, see, that third Harry Potter movie, where a stone will break a vase. You don’t know why and the scene’s fine and it doesn’t take you out of it. Then when you come back around and you realize that they had thrown it at themselves, I do love that.

In the third Harry Potter book/movie, time traveling is introduced through a magical device called a Time Turner. It allows the wearer to travel back in time, enabling them to change events and coexist with their past selves.

Although the concept of time traveling in Prisoners of Azkaban was a lot different than the one ultimately shown in Endgame, both concepts fit each mythos perfectly. And if Endgame had gone more Harry Potter-esque, we might never have gotten the perfect character arc with the fan-favorite character Loki.

Why did MCU Not Introduce Time Travelling Before?

The Marvel-verse in Marvel Comics is a huge universe thanks to the many multiverses present, and time-traveling is a common theme. Yet the Marvel Cinematic Universe never adapted the concept before Avengers: Endgame. Although the introduction of the time heist by Ant-Man was the perfect way to bring the concept to the MCU, it would have been great if there were various easter eggs present throughout the MCU movies before Endgame.

In the same interview, Stephen McFeely revealed that it was because back when the MCU initially kicked off, they had no idea where they were heading. Moreover, if the studio had all the money in the world, they sure would have introduced such exciting elements from the very start.

Christopher Markus further added that even if they knew where the Infinity Saga was heading up, it would have been baseless to introduce such easter eggs since those events hadn’t happened yet. Furthermore, it would have only complicated the already complicated MCU and ruined the excitement and thrill of the time-heist event of Avengers: Endgame.