Filmmaker brothers Anthony and Joe Russo have revealed how actor Robert Downey Jr had reacted when he first heard about his character's fate in Avengers: Endgame.
In a new book titled The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry, Joe and Anthony revealed how the moment unfolded. "When we started winding down the pitch, and getting to his death, Robert started crying," Joe said, as reported by Insider. “And when we were done, he said, 'That's f***ing awesome.' That's when we knew that we had to do it. Because he felt it.”
"In a way, it's almost like a death in the family. When you're saying to someone, 'All these people you've loved and have hung out with for 10 years? That's all gonna go away because we want to tell a story a certain way'," Joe added.
Anthony said that getting Robert's approval on Tony Stark's end was mandatory. “What we wanted to do is communicate the entire pitch to Robert, to sort of take his temperature on it, because he had so much creative ownership over the character. We were like, 'If Robert gets this, if Robert feels this, then we know we're in a good place',” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Anthony said that getting Robert's approval on Tony Stark's end was mandatory. “What we wanted to do is communicate the entire pitch to Robert, to sort of take his temperature on it, because he had so much creative ownership over the character. We were like, 'If Robert gets this, if Robert feels this, then we know we're in a good place',” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Also read: When Robert Downey Jr said he loved Lagaan, thought Aamir Khan was 'extraordinary'
In Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark/Iron Man sacrifices himself to keep the villainous Thanos from destroying the universe. In his final moment, he says his iconic words, “I am Iron Man" a final time, snaps his fingers to instead kill Thanos and his army and gets fatally injured in the process.
Avengers: Endgame was the final film in the MCU for Chris Evans' Captain America as well. While Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff dies in the film, she returned for a prequel, solo movie, Black Widow, released earlier this year.
Chris Hemsworth's Thor will be seen in Thor: Love and Thunder, Mark Ruffalo will be seen in She-Hulk and Jeremy Renner's series Hawk-Eye is also up for release.