The grand conclusion of Avengers: Endgame found Tony Stark sacrificing himself to stop Thanos and save the universe. It’s one of the most heartbreaking moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and provides a poignant conclusion to the entire Infinity Saga, but Engame co-director Joe Russo considered killing off Iron Man in a completely different movie.
Joe Russo and Robert Downey Jr. recently sat down with CBR, and Russo was asked about a rumour that Iron Man could have met his end in Avengers: Infinity War rather than Endgame. The director confirmed they did consider it at one point as a way to up the stakes and showcase Thanos as a major threat.
“This happens a lot in these rooms, right?” Russo said. “We try to investigate all angles, right? Everything’s up for grabs. We always say, ‘Best idea wins.’ And a lot of the times you gotta stretch…“
Downey Jr. interrupted, joking, “Mine is just, ‘Don’t kill me.’“
Russo continued, “We have to stretch the taffy a little bit, pull the taffy a little bit, stretch it, see where it goes. There was a moment where we thought, ‘They’re not expecting it. This could be the best place to possibly do it.’ But then we’d have to figure out how he could potentially still participate in the next movie. And then we went, ‘F*** it, let’s just do it in the next movie.’“
While it certainly would have been shocking to have seen Iron Man killed off in Infinity War, the Russos definitely made the right choice in saving the death for Endgame‘s finale. Tony deserved nothing less.
Not counting the Snap, Infinity War featured more than enough character deaths to establish Thanos as the ultimate villain, with Loki, Heimdall, Gamora, and Vision pushing up the daisies by the time the film ended. Of course, death isn’t always death in the MCU, but at the time, it felt final.
Jon Favreau was there for the birth of the MCU with Iron Man and cast Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, so it’s only natural that he would be protective of the character. And when he learned that Stark would be making the ultimate sacrifice in Endgame, he called directors Joe and Anthony Russo to try to talk them out of it.
“I called the Russos. I was like, ‘I don’t know about — I don’t think people — I don’t know if people are going to like — I don’t know! I think it’s going to really impact people because there they were kids that grew up with that character,‘” Favreau explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Obviously, the Russos did their own thing, and Favreau later admitted he was wrong. “But I have to tell you, it was handled so well by them,” he said. “And Gwyneth [Paltrow] and Robert [Downey Jr.] did such a wonderful job acting, and I think it added a poignancy to it. I think they did a wonderful job. I was wrong. I was wrong. I was choked up! Even though it’s a movie, those characters have been part of my life for so long.“