Russo Brothers Say That Jon Favreau Tried To Keep Iron Man From Dying

Source: Marvel / Avengers: Endgame

MCU fans already know that Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man sacrificed his life to save the universe during the events of the comic book classic Avengers: Endgame. What they might not know is that Iron Man director Jon Favreau tried his darnedest to keep Tony Stark from death’s door.

In a recent interview for Vanity Fair, Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo, a.k.a the Russo brothers, revealed that Jon Favreau called them after reading the script. Favreau had some thoughts about Iron Man kicking the bucket after the epic battle, with fans feeling all the emotions at the film’s end.

Breaking down the scene in which Iron Man wields the Infinity Gauntlet, Anthony recalled that they did not want to “f*ck up” Iron Man’s last line of the film and recalled that “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?’”

Yes, they were. While it was a heroic send-off, Favreau felt the scene would make hardcore MCU fans suicidal, saying, “You can’t do this. It’s going to devastate people, and you don’t want them, you know, walking out of the theater and into traffic.’”

Life Still Goes In The MCU

Honestly, we feel that people were more devastated with the end of Avengers: Infinity War when heroes like Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Groot became dust in the wind after an Infinity Gauntlet-wearing Thanos snapped his fingers. You never heard an audience leave the theater so quietly by the time the film credits were done rolling. Just sayin.’

Regardless, the Russo brothers decided to make Iron Man the sacrificial lamb for Endgame. Though fans were heartbroken that Iron Man had to be the one to lay his life on the line, it felt like the proper send-off after a decade of Marvel films that led to that moment.

Check out the Russo brothers talk about that scene and others below, and let us know if you think Iron Man should’ve survived in the comments section below.