WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame. Tony Stark's story arc in Avengers: Endgame was the perfect pay off to over 10 years of Iron Man plot. Played by Robert Downey Jr, Iron Man sacrifices his life on the battlefield to defeat Thanos once and for all in the Marvel's latest outing. In an interview to CinemaBlend, directors Joe and Anthony Russo revealed that Downey Jr was initially reluctant to deliver his final line - “and I am Iron Man” - at the end of the movie. “It’s an interesting story. I had dinner with (Robert Downey Jr.) like two weeks before we were supposed to shoot it. And he was like, ‘I don’t know. I don’t really want to go back and get into that emotional state. It’ll take... it’s hard.’ And crazily enough, Joel Silver, the producer, was at the dinner. He’s an old buddy of Robert’s. And Joel jumps in and he’s like, ‘Robert, what are you talking about? That’s the greatest line I’ve ever heard! You gotta say this line! You have to do this!’ So thank God that Joel Silver was at dinner, because he helped us talk Robert into doing that line,” Russo brothers told CinemBlend. A report in www.express.co.uk states the Russo brothers telling Sirius XM, "He was very resistant, he didn’t want to come back and do it. He had thought he’d already said goodbye to the character and he had to do it one more time, so we had to talk him into it.” Downey Jr. kicked off the MCU as Tony Stark in 2008 with the first Iron Man movie, opening the door to a 10 year connected film universe, spanning over 22 films. Follow @News18Movies for more<doc-sep>Avengers: Endgame (2019 movie) Close this dialog window Streaming Options Tony Stark has always been about the power play. Avengers: Endgame delivers a breathtaking moment for the hero who sparked the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Let’s explore its creation with directors Joe and Anthony Russo… ***Spoilers Below*** He was turned to steel In the great magnetic field Where he traveled time For the future of mankind Those lyrics to Black Sabbath’s 1971 “Iron Man” song have never rung more true. If you’re here, that means you’ve seen Avengers: Endgame and know that Tony Stark finally met his end. With the Infinity Stones melting into his metal glove, Stark snapped his fingers and erased the “inevitable” Thanos and his minions from existence. The cosmic blast stopped the threat, but cost him his own life. In some ways, it seemed like a natural choice. Stark had gone from aloof arms dealer to someone who repeatedly risked his own life to spare others. But it still wasn’t an easy decision, especially given the hope and inspiration Iron Man has provided to fans over the years. “There are a lot of sick kids who really look up to that character, and it’s hard because we’re trying to tell a story about heroism,” Joe Russo tells EW. “And sometimes heroism involves doing whatever it takes,” Anthony adds. Shooting the Goodbye Image Credit: Marco Grob/© Marvel Studios 2019 That sequence wasn’t Robert Downey Jr.’s final day, but it was still a heavy time for everyone involved. The Russo brothers describe it as a somber mood on set when they shot it, and even Downey, who is always brimming with jokes and wisecracks, toned it down. “Right around the moment where you’re executing it, it was very focused because actors had to access really complicated emotions,” Anthony says. “But not too long afterwards, the jokes came back.” Still, the directors say the impact of saying goodbye weighed on the actor. “This whole experience is very emotional for Robert because it’s been an incredible personal journey for him as well,” Joe says. “This role has real significance for him, and it’s a redemptive role for him. These guys bet on him at a time where it was hard to get him insured, and it’s a powerful journey for him.” When it came time for Tony Stark’s farewell to his friends and loved ones, Downey was the one who decided he shouldn’t say anything at all. No Words “It was his choice to not speak,” Joe Russo says. “That was his instinct saying, ‘I’m going to be truthful to what this situation is.’ He just got destroyed by this glove. We saw what it did to the Hulk. We saw what it did to Thanos. It would incapacitate [Stark].” So Tony is silent while Tom Holland’s Peter Parker clings to him, while Don Cheadle’s War Machine stands beside him, while Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts (shielded in the Rescue armor he built her) comforts him with the promise that she and their daughter will be okay. “Not always in life do you get the moment at your death where you’re lucid and can have a really cohesive speech about what your life meant to you,” Joe says. But then… Tony Stark is a futurist, always thinking ahead. “That’s why he recorded a post-death message, so he didn’t have to talk at his death!” Anthony jokes. No Doubts null Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2019 There was a daredevil aspect to Tony Stark, a defiance of danger, a determination — almost a self-destructive impulse — to put himself in harm’s way. Eventually, it was going to end in something he couldn’t walk away from. “I think in a way Tony Stark was meant to die, and he always knew he was going to die because he could never reconcile that notion in himself of not protecting the universe,” Joe says. “I think that was always a spark in him, always seeing that there was danger coming on the horizon and that someday, he and that danger would meet.” This is why Thanos knows who this puny human is in Infinity War. Stark had already made a lot of trouble for him. “Stark is the most formidable of all of them,” Joe says. “Because of his heart.” Close this dialog window Streaming Options Related content:<doc-sep>Part of the journey is the end. Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) says these words in various teasers and trailers for Avengers: Endgame, but the line takes on a greater meaning within the context of Endgame’s ending. While the film delivers what’s ostensibly the end of several characters’ journeys, whether that means death, retirement, or something else entirely, this is a comic book-inspired universe. So is there ever truly an end for any of these characters? Huge spoilers follow for Avengers: Endgame. Yes, the Avengers kill Thanos twice in Endgame and succeed in undoing his Decimation, but Tony Stark has to sacrifice himself to use the Infinity Stones and secure victory. Iron Man is dead. However, there’s a way Tony Stark can live on, one that’s been seeded by several different Marvel Studios films (and comic storylines) in the past. Before Tony Stark’s funeral, we see Robert Downey Jr. reprise the role in a brief goodbye scene. It’s a pre-recorded message scanned by his Iron Man helmet and projected into a hologram, so we’re watching Tony sit, talk, and crack jokes as if he’s really there in the room, offering us a touching bit of closure and a warmhearted message his daughter, Morgan, can re-watch for the rest of her life. Tony Stark's BARF seemingly helped inform this hologram projection technology. Marvel Studios A similar hologram projection technology is used earlier in the film as a long-range communicator so that Black Widow, Nebula, Rocket, Okoye, Captain Marvel, and War Machine can have a conference call together from galaxies away. The same high-fidelity hologram tech was used before in Infinity War, and these various forms resemble Tony Stark’s BARF technology he presented in Captain America: Civil War. This technological progression could be an indication that, in the future, artificial intelligence is incorporated with holograms and potentially even hard-light technology (the stuff Iron Man uses to make a body shield to cover himself and Hawkeye in Endgame) to give A.I. Tony Stark some sort of bodily form. Even after death, Tony Stark can still play a transhumanist role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, transcending death if he uploaded an approximation of his consciousness into an artificial intelligence. Not only would this make sense visually after everything we’ve seen in the MCU, but there’s a huge precedent for this in the comics that also helps introduce Ironheart, Iron Man’s spiritual successor. Say hello to A.I. Tony Stark. The A.I. Tony Stark in the 'Ironheart' comics. Marvel Comics In 2015, comics writer Brian Michael Bendis created a new character, Riri Williams, for Marvel Comics to continue Iron Man’s legacy after Tony Stark went into a coma. A young super-genius who designed her own Iron Man-style armor and eventually assumed the moniker Ironheart, Williams attracted Stark’s attention enough that he sent her an artificial intelligence bearing his own personality. Imagine Iron Man’s A.I. assistants JARVIS or FRIDAY but with the voice of Tony Stark and his likeness projected as a hologram. In the comics, this Stark A.I. even piloted Iron Man suits of armor, which is pretty wild. Should the MCU ever introduce Riri Williams/Ironheart as a new hero — and they totally should — it opens up the possibility of also incorporating this Stark A.I. into the mix. Robert Downey Jr. could lend his likeness to the role or even just his voice to the A.I., or perhaps Marvel can just use advanced special effects to fake the entire thing (we’re betting those Marvel contracts include some sort of hologram clause). This would allow the Marvel Cinematic Universe to continue Robert Downey Jr.’s legacy moving forward, but might it also cheapen Iron Man’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame? The answer is probably yes, which is why Marvel will most likely wait at least a few more years before bringing Ironheart to the big screen. In the meantime, the journey will continue, and for the first time in MCU history, Tony Stark won’t be there to guide us along the way. Avengers: Endgame is now in theaters.<doc-sep>
Avengers: Chris Pratt teases ‘illegal’ moment on set of Endgame It was one of the most iconic moments of the Marvel epic; when Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark managed to snatch the Infinity Stones from Thanos and snap his fingers. Iron Man gave his life to defeat the Mad Titan and save the universe as he came full circle saying, “And I am Iron Man”, just before he did it. Now Downey Jr himself has shared some behind-the-scenes photos of his day on set in Atlanta, Georgia, where he shot that incredible moment. The string of Avengers Endgame snaps show the 54-year-old on three camera monitors from different angles. With green screen behind him, Downey Jr has his right hand in the air, which later had visual effects added of his Iron Man suit and the Infinity Stones moving into place for his Snap. It turns out originally Stark didn’t say anything to Thanos, but just snapped his fingers. And now Avengers Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo have revealed the “And I am Iron Man” line was added last minute in January. Anthony Russo told Sirius XM: “Robert… it’s emotionally complicated, it’s a difficult thing.” Avengers Endgame star Robert Downey Jr shares Iron Man DEATH behind-the-scenes look Robert Downey Jr shared his Iron Man death BTS images on Instagram He continued: “He was very resistant, he didn’t want to come back and do it.” Joe added: “He was getting ready for reshoots for another movie. “He had thought he’d already said goodbye to the character and he had to do it one more time, so we had to talk him into it.” Of the line’s conception, Joe recalled: “It took us a while to figure out what that line was.” Iron Man's snap killed Thanos and his minions, but at the expense of his life too