'Iron Man' director was against Tony Stark's death in 'Endgame'
Countless hearts broke when our beloved Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sacrificed himself to stop the Mad Titan Thanos from destroying the universe in Avengers: Endgame. Fans of the superhero were shattered, and for some, it also marked the end of the Avengers franchise. Even Iron Man (2008) director Jon Favreau felt the same way and was against Stark's death.
In a recent video interview with Vanity Fair, directors Anthony and Joe Russo spoke about some memorable moments from their projects like Community, Captain America: Civil War, and The Gray Man. During this, they also spoke about the highly emotional scene where Stark acquires all the Infinity Stones and brings back half of the universe wiped out by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
The Russo brothers revealed that they were under the pressure to orchestrate the perfect sign off for Iron Man because, "you do not want to f**k up Tony Stark's last line." "Part of the pressure came from Jon Favreau who called us up after he read the script and said to us, 'Are you guys really going to kill Iron Man?'" the duo recalled.
"I remember pacing on the corner of a stage on the phone with Favreau trying to talk him off a ledge...he's like, 'You can't do this. It's gonna devastate people, and you don't want them walking out of the theater and into traffic,'" Joe revealed. "We did it anyway," he concluded. To recall, Favreau also appeared as Happy Hogan, Stark's security chief and friend.
Previously, Avengers: Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely told The New York Times they felt this was the perfect way for Stark to go since his character's arc was to bring a sense of redemption and become a self-sacrificing hero. The duo also explained they had the option to give Iron Man a happy retirement, but he had already achieved everything he wanted.
