‘Avengers: Endgame’: The Russo Brothers on How They Landed on Iron Man’s Last Line and Why Filming It Was a Full-Circle Moment

Making Avengers: Endgame was no easy task. The Russo brothers were under immense pressure to deliver an epic climax to the Infinity saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while giving a few characters a worthy send-off. One character whose story concluded in Avengers: Endgame is Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). The Russo Brothers revealed how they came up with his final line and why it was a full circle moment. 

Iron Man delivers an amazing last line in ‘Avengers: Endgame’

In the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, Earth’s mightiest heroes go up against Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his army. The goal is to prevent Thanos from getting his hands on the Infinity stones, which he will use to wipe out all existence. He does get them back, but just before he does, Iron Man swoops in and steals them away. 

Still believing he has the stones, Thanos says, “I am inevitable” before snapping his fingers, which leads to a loud “clunk.” Iron Man raises his hand, filled with the stones, and says, “And I am Iron Man” before snapping his fingers. It’s a great final line for the character as it brings his arc full circle. At the end of the first Iron Man in 2008, the movie that kicked off the MCU, he uttered the exact words. 

The Russo brothers explain how they came up with Iron Man’s final line

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Russo brothers break down the “And I am Iron Man” scene in Avengers: Endgame. The directors explain that they felt intense pressure to get Tony Stark’s climactic moment correct, especially with the decision to kill him. They said they had alternate versions of this scene, including one where Downey Jr. remained silent. However, they received inspiration for the final line from an editor who worked on the original Iron Man. 

“Our editor, Jeff Ford, who is one of the most amazing filmmakers we’ve ever collaborated with, edited the first Iron Man movie. So, he had been on the journey with the character since the original Jon Favreau-directed Iron Man,” Anthony Russo said. 

“He hit play, and Thanos says, ‘I am inevitable,” and then beat, beat, beat, and Jeff went ‘And I am Iron Man,’” Joe Russo explains. “We called Downey, we said, ‘You gotta put the suit back on.’ He had already said goodbye to the character like twice now.”

The directors also share that it was a full circle moment, not only because of the line itself but also because they shot it across the street from where he auditioned for the first Iron Man. 

“That pickup that we did with Robert was at a stage in Los Angeles,” Anthony says. “It was directly across the street from where he originally auditioned for the role of Iron Man to make the whole thing even more emotionally devastating.”

Many people did not want Iron Man to die at all

For many MCU fans, Iron Man was a fan favorite and the glue that held the MCU together. Killing Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame surprised many people, including Favreau, who was against doing it. 

“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 says. 

“He did, and I remember pacing on the corner of the stage on the phone with Favreau, trying to talk him off the edge because he was like, ‘You can’t do this. It’s gonna devastate people, and you don’t want them walking out of the theater into traffic,” Joe adds. “We did it anyways.”

The Russo brothers’ latest film, The Gray Man, starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, is now streaming on Netflix.