Avengers: Infinity War was nearly ruined by a key MCU decision. Thankfully, the Russo Brothers changed their minds and implemented a change in Avengers: Endgame that became one of Marvel‘s defining moments.
Anthony and Joe Russo debated on Thanos killing Robert Downey Jr.‘s Iron Man in Avengers: Infinity War. While speaking with CBR.com, Joe Russo explained his discussions with Anthony about including Tony Stark’s monumental death in Infinity War. Ultimately, the Russos elected to move Iron Man’s death to Avengers: Endgame, and the rest is history.
“This happens a lot in these rooms, right? We try to . . . I’m feeling the heat now. We try to investigate. We try to investigate all angles, right? Everything’s up for grabs,” Joe Russo said. “We always say, ‘Best idea wins.’ And a lot of the [time] you gotta stretch . . . 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.’”
Why delaying Iron Man’s death until Endgame was the right choice
It’s hard to imagine a world where Iron Man dies in Avengers: Infinity War. Think about the impact that decision would have on the rest of Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. If Thanos kills Tony Stark in Infinity War, you don’t get that heart wrenching moment when Peter Parker disintegrates in Iron Man’s hands. If Iron Man dies in Infinity War, then he doesn’t get to have a redemption arc in Avengers: Endgame. Tony’s decision to help the Avengers travel back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones becomes a major storyline in Endgame.
More importantly, if Iron Man is not around in Endgame, then he doesn’t have his hero moment when he sacrifices himself to kill Thanos and save the world. Iron Man’s snap is undoubtedly one of the most crucial moments in the MCU’s history. It was the perfect conclusion to the Infinity Saga, and it almost never happened.
Originally reported by Dan Girolamo for SuperHeroHype.
