Marvel directors once eyed Iron Man's death in Infinity War

The directors of "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" have confirmed they seriously considered killing off Tony Stark's Iron Man a full movie earlier than his eventual heroic sacrifice. Joe Russo, speaking alongside actor Robert Downey Jr., revealed the creative team weighed having the character die on the planet Titan during the climax of 2018's "Infinity War."

Russo described the process as standard exploratory work, where every narrative possibility is tested. He explained that the team operates on a "best idea wins" principle and often stretches storylines to see where they might lead. The idea of an earlier death emerged from a desire to surprise audiences who would not expect such a pivotal character to perish at that point.

Ultimately, the logistical challenge of the idea prevented it. Russo stated that killing Stark in "Infinity War" would have created a narrative problem for the subsequent film, "Avengers: Endgame," requiring the filmmakers to devise a way for the character to still participate. The simpler solution, he said, was to move the death to the next movie. This decision allowed for five additional years of character development within the story,...