Avengers: Endgame Writers Tried To Avoid That Heartbreaking Iron Man Twist
Avengers: Endgame climaxes with a twist that brings the heroes of the MCU to tears and broke the hearts of legions of fans too. Yet, it didn't necessarily have to happen.
We're of course referring to the powerful moment in the Avengers' battle with past-Thanos when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) uses the Infinity Gauntlet to Snap Thanos out of existence, but dies because of the immense power surging through his body.
While this moment brings an end to the first era of the MCU, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have told Canada.com that they actively searched for alternatives to killing off Iron Man.
"We weren't there to just kill characters off," Markus explained. "We were told, 'If the story demands it, you can take people off the board.
"'But if there's a good story to be told and no one dies, go ahead and tell that one too'."
His partner McFeely elaborated on why they reached their ultimate decision: "In Endgame, we were trying to finish arcs and for Iron Man/Tony Stark to give up his life and sacrifice himself for the good of the universe seemed like a really good narrative closure for the billionaire playboy who had been learning over the course of several films."
However, the writers did put serious thought into where the MCU could go next if Tony Stark had somehow survived the events of Avengers: Endgame.
"We considered ways to let Tony live and whether there was a story there," Markus recalled. "But [dying] was the last thing he needed to do to become a fully-realised hero.
"There was never a better story than that."
Their choice to kill off Stark also allowed for one of the most poignant MCU scenes ever as the current heroes of the MCU —and perhaps a future hero — gathered to say farewell to their leader.
This story originally appeared on Esquire.co.uk. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.
