AVENGERS: ENDGAME's Best Iron Man Moment Was Added At The Very Last Minute - SPOILERS

During a Q&A session in Washington DC yesterday, Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo revealed that one key moment in the Marvel Studios movie involving Iron Man almost failed to make the cut.

By JoshWilding - May 02, 2019 04:05 AM EST

Filed Under: Avengers: Endgame

Joe and Anthony Russo are currently doing the rounds to discuss Avengers: Endgame, and during a Q&A event in Washington DC last night, the filmmakers dropped quite the bombshell about the movie's final battle.

As you'll no doubt recall, just as Thanos is about to snap his fingers for the second time (to create a new universe where no one remembers what he's done), Iron Man manages to wrestle away the Infinity Stones from him and declares "I am Iron Man" before using them to wipe out the Mad Titan and his forces.

Well, it turns out that they were originally unsure what to have Tony say at that point, and it was the movie's editor who came up with the suggestion just a day before they were set to shoot the sequence.

"Tony used to not say anything in that moment," the directors confirm. "And we were in the editing room going, ‘He has to say something. This a character who has lived and died by quips.’ And we just couldn’t, we tried a million different last lines. Thanos was saying 'I am inevitable.'"

"And our editor Jeff Ford, who’s been with us all four movies and is an amazing storyteller, said ‘Why don’t we just go full circle with it and say I am Iron Man.’ And we’re like, ‘Get the cameras! We have to shoot this tomorrow.'"

The Russo Brothers also revealed that Iron Man's death was the last thing they shot and it happened in the same building where Robert Downey Jr. first auditioned for the role of Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things definitely came full circle with Avengers: Endgame, and that line was the perfect way for us to bid farewell to the beloved superhero.

What were your thoughts on this scene? Let us know that in the comments section below.

Hit the "View List" button for a reminder of the
final fates of every character in Avengers: Endgame!

Captain America

Steve Rogers takes the Infinity Stones back in time to return them to their rightful place and while The Hulk, Falcon, and Bucky all expect him to come back through that same portal seconds later, he's nowhere to be seen. It's then that they look over to a nearby bench and spot an old man sitting there.

It turns out that Steve chose to remain in the past and lived a long, full life and got married. After handing his shield and the Captain America mantle over to someone else (more on that later), a flashback shows Steve finally getting that dance with Peggy Carter.

Iron Man

During the final battle with Thanos and his army, Tony Stark makes the ultimate sacrifice when he wrestles the Infinity Stones away from the Mad Titan and snaps his fingers with the declaration, "I am Iron Man."

Unfortunately, he doesn't survive the toll that using the Stones to put an end to the villain's plans takes and after Spider-Man, War Machine, and Pepper Potts bid him an emotional goodbye (Tony barely responds at this point but seems to recognise his friends), the hero's life ends.

Thor

Deciding that he no longer wants to rule over Asgard, Thor joins the Guardians of the Galaxy (or the "Asgardians of the Galaxy" as he calls them) and proceeds to bicker with Star-Lord over which of them is the team's leader. What that means for both his and the team's respective franchises is hard to say but he definitely feels like a good fit for the group based on the way things wrap up here.

Black Widow

Well, I guess we can now safely say that Black Widow's upcoming spinoff movie will indeed be an origin story. When she and Clint Barton head to Vormir to retrieve the Soul Stone, they learn courtesy of the Red Skull that one of them must make a sacrifice in order for the other to get their hands on that.

They each try to make the leap but it's ultimately Natasha who manages to throw herself off the cliff and, like Gamora before her, her life ends. The movie makes it clear that a resurrection is off the cards too.

Ronin

It's a pretty simple conclusion for Hawkeye as he's reunited with his family after they were dusted during Thanos' initial attack on Earth. There aren't a lot of hints about what comes next for him but we know that the planned Disney+ series will explore him training Kate Bishop as his replacement.

The Hulk

After using the Infinity Gauntlet to bring back the dead, The Hulk's arm is left horribly burned and things wrap up with the Jade Giant - who now has Bruce Banner's intelligence - permanently in that form but with his arm in a sling.

It's not entirely clear whether he'll ever be able to fully recover but there's obviously an awful lot that could be done with this version of the character moving forward so here's hoping the impact the Stones had on him doesn't become a recurring issue.

Captain Marvel

With a new costume, haircut, and sash, Carol Danvers attends Tony Stark's funeral but that's where things end for her. However, considering the fact she spent most of the movie in outer space, it seems as if her future adventures will mostly take place there rather than on Earth.

Ant-Man

Cassie Lang is now five years older than the last time we saw her and clearly ready to become the Young Avenger known as Stature. We'll have to wait and see on that front, of course, but the last time we see Scott Lang, he's spending time with his daughter and Hope Van Dyne, clearly enjoying being reunited with the ones he loves.

Valkyrie

Appointed the new leader of Asgard by Thor, Valkyrie now looks set to rule over "New Asgard" and with the God of Thunder part of the Guardians of the Galaxy now, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if whatever Taika Waititi's Thor 4 ends up being actually puts the spotlight solely on the female warrior.

Black Panther

We don't learn about what happened to Wakanda in T'Challa's absence but by the time this epic adventure comes to a close, he's back in his home nation and watching over it alongside his mother and sister. Is he still King? That's something which Ryan Coogler will more than likely address in the character's sequel but he's left in a place that gives the filmmaker plenty of creative freedom.

Gamora

Yes, Gamora may be dead but due to Avengers: Endgame's time-travel shenanigans, the version from 2014 is now in the present. The problem is, she was still working for Thanos at that point in time she was take from and while she quickly realises that her "father" had to be stopped, she has no emotional connection to Star-Lord and the rest of the team.

As a result, she's gone on the run and could be on Earth or in outer space by the time the film ends.

Spider-Man

After attending Tony Stark's funeral, Peter Parker returns to school and is reunited with his old friend, Ned. They embrace, do their patented handshake, and seemingly do their best to return to normality. The next time we see the wall-crawler, he'll obviously be heading overseas on a field trip!

Guardians Of The Galaxy

The Guardians are reunited and while Star-Lord doesn't seem particularly amused by Thor's insistence that he's the team's leader, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Nebula, and Mantis all appear to be loving seeing Quill clash with the God of Thunder.

However, as we learn before Thor boards the ship, Peter seems far more interested in attempting to track down Gamora's whereabouts despite the fact that the woman he fell in love with is obviously dead and gone now.

Loki

Time-travel is confusing at the best of times but what happens in the past doesn't change the future for reasons which are best explained by Bruce Banner in the movie itself.

However, when we return to 2012, a mistake by Tony Stark and Scott Lang sees the imprisoned Loki (who is about to be taken back to Asgard) get his hands on the Tesseract and he teleports to parts unknown with it. Whether that was undone when Steve Rogers went back in time isn't clear but it seems highly likely that the God of Mischief is out there somewhere with that Infinity Stone.

With that in mind, the direction of his Disney+ series may have just become much clearer.

The Falcon

After an emotional reunion with Steve Rogers, The Falcon learns that Captain America - whose shield has been repaired after it was destroyed by Thanos earlier in the movie - wants him to wield that and take over the mantle.

A shocked Sam Wilson accepts the honour as a supportive Bucky watches on and while it would have been good to see "BuckyCap" arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this feels like the right move given the former Winter Soldier's past and we can expect Sam's new role to be explored in the Disney+ series he'll share with Bucky.

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange doesn't really get an ending as such. He's there at Tony's funeral and presumably the Sorcerer Supreme again despite the fact Wong has been the one watching over the Earth for the past five years. Like Black Panther, the potential is now there for any number of stories to be told with the character and Scott Derrickson would be wise to delve into what impact Tony's death had on him.

Scarlet Witch (And The Vision)

There's no sign of Vision in Avengers: Endgame (so much for my theory that he would return as an emotionless, greyed out shell like in West Coast Avengers) but Scarlet Witch is shown mourning for him when the movie ends and we're left to wonder how they'll be reunited in the Disney+ series...unless, of course, that takes place in the past when their romance first started to blossom off screen.

Nick Fury

Nick Fury doesn't really get anything to do here and is simply shown among those attending Iron Man's funeral. On the plus side, we know that his story will continue in Spider-Man: Far From Home so here's hoping we'll learn more about what he's up to now and how he feels about the way things played out for Earth's Mightiest Heroes during the course of that international adventure.

Thanos #1

It takes no time at all for The Avengers to track down Thanos but after easily overpowering the badly injured Mad Titan, they learn that he's in such a poor state because he used the Infinity Stones to destroy them once and for all so he wouldn't be tempted to unleash their powers again.

Thor then cuts his head off and that's the end for the lead villain of last year's Avengers: Infinity War.

Thanos #2

You didn't think that was it for the Mad Titan, though, did you?

The 2014 version of Thanos learns what The Avengers are up to thanks to Nebula's brainwaves syncing up with her past self and he then travels forward in time with an army to destroy the team and get his hands on the Stones so he can create a new universe with them. However, after Tony Stark snaps his fingers, the villain - and his forces - are reduced to ash.

This time, The Avengers win.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME Star Josh Brolin Suggests There Are Plans For Thanos To Return In The Multiverse Saga

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112 Comments

1 2 3

smallvile559 - 5/2/2019, 5:11 AM

#first# finally

Nebula - 5/2/2019, 5:16 AM

Praise be Jeff Ford!

DalekCraigWasson - 5/2/2019, 8:59 AM

@Nebula - Yup, he co-edited all 3 Captain America films and all 4 Avengers (plus Iron Man 3). He's Marvel family.

Unites - 5/2/2019, 5:19 AM

Thanks Jeff! You're a hero!

DoubleD - 5/2/2019, 5:24 AM

Directors even said the Hulk was the only one strong enough to do the SNAP without dying !!!

HULKS ARM WILL BE 100% HEALED BY NEXT MOVIE.

That was just scratch for the Hulk healing powers :)

Hulks been chopped onto many pieces and heals. Hulks head been chopped off and put on a shelf and he came back.