It’s no secret that Avengers: Endgame, with its time travel and beyond epic final battle, signaled the end of so many MCU sagas.
To begin with, there was Steve Rogers finally reuniting with Peggy Carter after years – nay, decades – spent away from one another, while Thor Odinson handed over the keys to Asgard and joined up with the Guardians of the Galaxy… much to the chagrin of Star-Lord. But if there was one truly significant moment in Avengers: Endgame, it involved the late Tony Stark, who sacrificed his life in order to defeat the Mad Titan once and for all. And what a moment it was.
Like every other Marvel fan, we were heartbroken over Iron Man’s death, but certainly not surprised. After all, Robert Downey Jr.’s genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist had a bit of a habit of laying his life down on the line when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes needed him most (see: The Avengers), so his demise in Endgame was really rather fitting. Though that doesn’t make it any less tragic.
Indeed, the moment hit hard, with all the actors involved nailing the scene and making it one of the most emotional moments in the MCU yet. So, imagine our surprise upon learning that it was actually completely improvised. At least, that’s according to Tom Holland, who recently said the following:
“When we shot that scene with Robert, there was no real script at all. It was just Kevin Feige, the Russo Brothers, myself, Robert, Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle. They told us what was gonna happen and what they wanted to happen, and then we sort of just improvised it. It was an interesting way to shoot such a pivotal scene.”
Indeed it was, and while we don’t know what the future holds for Iron Man in the MCU, Tony Stark definitely won’t be a part of it. At least, not in a literal sense. Given his suit’s technical enhancements though, could we perhaps see Spidey take on the role as the franchise moves forward?
It’s possible, but then there’s also Ironheart/Riri Williams to consider, who could be introduced by War Machine. And then, of course, we have Tony’s daughter, Morgan Stark, though that’s probably too predictable.
In any case, we may just get to see – or hear – Robert Downey Jr. one final time in the MCU, as fans are fully expecting him to drop by for a cameo in Spider-Man: Far From Home. It remains to be seen if that’ll indeed happen, but we’ll find out soon enough.
