While it remains to be seen if Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark will truly stay dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the narrative move was undoubtedly shocking to many audience members, given how beloved Stark and Downey was to fans. While everyone at Marvel obviously agreed it was the right move, one person really was against killing the character: Jon Favreau, who directed “Iron Man” in 2008, successfully launching the MCU and playing Happy Hogan in the Marvel Universe.
In a recent Vanity Fair interview with “Avengers: Endgame,” directors The Russo Brothers, the pair revealed that Favreau was so attached to the character he attempted to talk them out of making that emotional and dramatic move. As you’ll recall, Stark makes the ultimate sacrifice in ‘Endgame’ against Thanos, fulfilling the arc of going from self-interest to ultimate selflessness. The Russos explained how after reading the script, Favreau called them up in an effort to change their minds.
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“Part of the pressure [not to kill Tony Stark] came from Jon Favreau, who called us up after he read the script… and said to us, ‘Are you really going to kill Iron Man?’” Anthony Russo said to Vanity Fair. “He did. Yeah,” added Joe Russo. “And I remember pacing on the corner of a stage on the phone with Favreau trying to talk him off a ledge.”
“Because he’s like, ‘You can’t do this,’” said Joe. “‘It’s gonna devastate people, and you don’t want them, you know, walking out of the theater and into traffic.’ We did it anyways.” Cold as ice, but still one of the things that many people feel was a good creative choice on their part.
You have to imagine that RDJ was comfortable at this point to walk away from the role. His exit has led to related spin-off projects like the upcoming “Ironheart” series along with Don Cheadle’s own “Armor Wars” series. The latter project will see his character War Machine tackle a horde of enemies that have got their hands on Stark Technology. In the comics, that’s thanks to Justin Hammer, and many fans hope that means the return of Sam Rockwell from “Iron Man II.”
Stark’s swan song was essential to end The Infinity Saga as things have moved into The Multiverse Saga. Still, it would be interesting to imagine what Phases 4-6 would have looked like if they had taken the advice from Favreau and kept him around.
