Prior to Avengers: Endgame releasing, there were a ton of rumors swirling about just what would happen, and more importantly, which characters would make it out of the film alive.
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According to the directing duo the Russo Brothers in a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige did pitch having the entire original Avengers group die by the end of the movie.
“There were lots of rumors swirling about who was going to die,” Joe Russo said. “Kevin did actually pitch, at one point, taking all the OGs off the board. We thought it was way too aggressive and that the audience wouldn’t be able to process it. And that, in fact, picking one or two characters to make sacrifices throughout the movie might give you moments throughout the film where the action could stop and you could have emotional catharsis and then continue with the narrative.”
In this clip from A SECOND LOOK, we dive into the climactic showdown with Thanos from ENDGAME and the @Russo_Brothers reveal at one point Kevin Feige contemplated killing off the big 3, Iron Man, Thor, AND Cap!
Full episode at https://t.co/e84WokCDhq pic.twitter.com/MsNCgVMObi
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) August 3, 2022
Of course, while the team didn’t end up sacrificing all six members of the Avengers, the Russos did kill off two of them, including Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man — something the duo revealed earlier this year was an issue for fellow director and MCU alum Jon Favreau.
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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 said in the interview. Joe Russo then spoke up, confirming more of the story and recalling talking to Favreau on the phone to try and “talk him off the ledge.”
