MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME!
YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!
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Avengers: Endgame may be over three hours long but it uses the time really well as it was stuffed with enough showstopping moments (like the “she’s got help” scene) to make fans weep with joy.
But of all the film’s many highlights, arguably the finest moment belongs to Tony Stark.
At the end of the film, he manages to wrestle the Infinity Stones off Thanos at the last moment before ending the Mad Titan’s rampage with a click of his fingers and his most infamous quip, “I am Iron Man.”
It’s a brilliant scene that brings Tony’s story full circle as that was the exact line he used to announce himself to the world at the end of the very first Marvel film that kicked off this incredible cinematic journey, Iron Man.
But funnily enough, we almost didn’t get this fantastic little moment as it came about as an afterthought in the editing room.
You certainly are.
According to Slashfilm, Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo revealed at a Q&A event that Tony’s final big moment wasn’t scripted and only came about when they were trying to get the epic final battle to work in the editing room.
“Tony used to not say anything in that moment. And we were in the editing room going, ‘He has to say something. This a character who has lived and died by quips.’ And we just couldn’t, we tried a million different last lines.
“Thanos was saying ‘I am inevitable.’ And our editor Jeff Ford, who’s been with us all four movies and is an amazing storyteller, said ‘Why don’t we just go full circle with it and say I am Iron Man.’ And we’re like, ‘Get the cameras! We have to shoot this tomorrow.’”
It’s a good thing that the Russos had Jeff Ford around for this little brainwave as it was the perfect encapsulation of Tony Stark’s character and it makes his final sacrifice all the more powerful.
It also seems like the universe agreed with Ford on this one as it turns out Endgame‘s “I am Iron Man” moment was shot at the same studio where Robert Downey Jr. first auditioned for the role of Tony Stark some 12 to 13 years ago.
Talk about a full circle.
The MCU will certainly be different without the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in it, and the next generation of Avengers will have some big shoes to fill when it’s their time to shine.
But seeing as how we’ve already met the likely candidate for the new Iron Man way back in Iron Man 3 (and again at Tony’s funeral in Endgame), chances are we’ll be hearing “I am Iron Man” again sooner rather than later.