“Why don’t we just go full circle”: Robert Downey Jr.’s Last Endgame Line Has a Direct Connection to Iron Man 1
Of all the memorable characters he has portrayed on screen, actor Robert Downey Jr. is most known for playing Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2008, he made his superhero film debut as Tony Stark, the renowned businessman and skilled engineer, in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The first film in the MCU’s Phase I, Iron Man, was well-received by both reviewers and viewers, immediately elevating Robert Downey Jr. to the status of a beloved figure. It was chosen to be one of the top ten films of the year 2008. The final appearance of Downey Jr. as Iron Man was in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Did you realize that there is one extremely unique similarity between Iron Man and Avengers: Endgame? Let’s find out.
Anthony Russo shared that Robert Downey Jr. had mixed emotions with the ending of Tony Stark
During an interview with THR back in 2019, Anthony Russo was asked if they pitched the characters’ arc to the actors and would have changed the fate of the characters in Avengers: Endgame if the actors had opinions about it. He said,
“We did pitch Robert his arc, because he kicked off the entire MCU. The Tony Stark arc is the longest and perhaps fullest in the MCU. Once we decided we wanted this kind of ending for the character, we certainly wanted to make sure Robert was comfortable with it, just because of his enormous contribution to the MCU. We did pitch it out. We went over to meet with him and we pitched it out to him.”
He also added that a lot of actors are not opinionated about how they tend to take the story of a character forward, because they like the fact the makers have control of the stories and they are driving where the characters should go. When it comes to Robert Downey Jr., he noted,
“I think Downey may have had mixed emotions about thinking about [where Tony Stark ends up in Endgame], but I think at the end of the day, he totally accepted it.”
The Russo Brothers mentioned that Downey Jr. is the most wonderful collaborator, a brilliant filmmaker in his own right and he brings in a tremendous amount of energy to the process.
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Robert Downey Jr.’s last line in Avengers: Endgame completes the circle of Iron Man in MCU
In MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios’ book, Anthony Russo revealed that they were struggling with Iron Man’s final words in the movie, as it had to hold significance to the character, especially after Thanos says, I am inevitable, adding that they decided that Tony Stark would win the day silently. They filmed the scene with Iron Man not saying anything.
But Marvel editor Jeff Ford came up with something very specific and of utter importance to the fans and the character. He said,
“Why don’t we just go full circle with it and say, ‘I am Iron Man’”.
Downey, in 2008’s Iron Man, towards the end, holds a press conference and decides to tell the world about his superhero identity and says, I am Iron Man and the scene ends.
Anthony further revealed in the book via ScreenRant that Downey was reluctant to reshoot the scene by saying the last line I am Iron Man, as he noted that he didn’t want to go back and get into the emotional state, but he was later convinced to do so and the movie got it’s iconic and devastating ending at the same time yet completing the entire arc of Iron Man in the MCU.
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