In a recent interview with Fandango, co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely shared their thoughts on all things Avengers: Endgame. And as we delve into some of their insights, be warned that spoilers lie ahead.
As those who’ve seen the movie will know, the Avengers: Infinity War sequel climaxes with Tony Stark sacrificing his life to save the universe. Later on in the film, we also see Steve Rogers’ arc come to a close, though not before he passes on the Captain America mantel to Sam Wilson. With that in mind, you may wonder if we could also be getting a new Iron Man in the next era of the MCU. From the sound of things, however, that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
When asked about the possibility of another “Iron Character,” Markus first offered a tease that Tony isn’t the only hero in the saga with a suit of armor, hinting that someone else could potentially take his place.
“Ooh, well there certainly are a bunch of [other] people with suits who are alive.”
Two examples that spring to mind are James Rhodes and Pepper Potts, though seeing how Gwyneth Paltrow has already announced her retirement from the franchise, we can probably assume that the Rescue suit was a one-off.
In any case, McFeely went on to admit that the two of them “don’t know what they’ve got planned,” before Markus backed him up, saying:
“Yeah, there are no Iron Teen scripts as far as I know.”
All in all, while they aren’t ruling out the possibility completely, it doesn’t sound like a direct successor to Iron Man will emerge anytime soon, which may not be such a bad thing. After all, there are only so many superhero slots that the MCU can offer. And when there are still countless comic book heroes waiting to be adapted, surely not every Phase 1 star needs their own sequel character.
That being said, Tony still left behind one protégé in Peter Parker, and we’ll find out how he copes in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame when Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 2nd.