Anthony Russo and Joe Russo say that the most vocal voice advising them not to kill off Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame was Jon Favreau. Speaking with Vanity Fair in an interview following the release of their newest film, The Gray Man, the Russo brothers recalled the pressure they faced getting rid of the beloved character.
“Part of the pressure [not to kill Tony Stark] came from Jon Favreau, who called us up after he read the script … and said to us, ‘Are you really going to kill Iron Man?’” Anthony said.
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Joe added: “He did. Yeah. And I remember pacing on the corner of a stage on the phone with Favreau trying to talk him off a ledge. Because he’s like, ‘You can’t do this. It’s gonna devastate people, and you don’t want them, you know, walking out of the theater and into traffic.’ We did it anyways.”
While Favreau has contributed to Marvel films behind the camera, he also appeared in all three Iron Man films and three of four Avengers films as Stark’s companion, Happy Hogan. He currently serves as the showrunner on The Mandalorian.
From July 2019 until March 2021, Endgame reigned as the highest-grossing film of all time, bringing in over $2 billion at the box office.
Check out the Russo brother’s interview with Vanity Fair below.
[Via]