Jon Favreau Warned Russo Bros. Against Killing Iron Man in ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ Would ‘Devastate’ Audiences

The Russo Brothers had to convince one MCU helmer to let them kill off an Avenger.

During a Vanity Fair video interview, Joe and Anthony Russo addressed the “pressure” they received from “Iron Man” director and “Avengers: Endgame” actor Jon Favreau after he read the script in which Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sacrifices himself to save the world from Thanos (Josh Brolin).

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“Part of the pressure came from Jon Favreau, who called us up after he read the script. And said to us, ‘Are you guys really going to kill Iron Man?'” Anthony Russo explained.

Joe Russo added, “He did. 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 going to devastate people and you don’t want them walking out of the theater and into traffic.'”

Of course, Iron Man did get bested by Thanos. Or as Joe Russo simply said, “We did it anyway” despite Favreau’s complaints.

“To Jon’s credit,” co-director Anthony Russo said, “he hadn’t stepped through the process in the way that we had. So, we would’ve had the same reaction if somebody had dropped that.”

The 2019 film capped off Marvel’s Phase 3 over a decade since Favreau’s “Iron Man” kicked off the modern MCU franchise as we know it.

Downey Jr. spoke out about parting ways with Marvel in 2020, saying, “I’ve done all I could with that character and can do other things now. Now, being middle-aged, you start looking at the back nine and realize this is all part of the journey, and things end. I am fortunate and eternally grateful to have wound up where I have.”

During the 2022 San Diego Comic Con, Marvel president Kevin Feige gave an update on follow-up film “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” the fifth “Avengers” film that will debut in 2025, followed by “Avengers: Secret Wars” to close out Marvel’s Phase 6.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton has been tapped to helm “Kang Dynasty” starring Jonathan Majors. However, Majors confirmed that there will be multiple Kangs, much like multiple Spider-Men, in the expansive multiverse approach to the next generation of the MCU.

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