The sibling-director duo Russo Brothers, Joe and Anthony Russo, who have made the last two Avengers movies, have revealed that their decision to kill Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame was contested by director Jon Favreau, who helmed Iron Man and starred in the MCU as Harold 'Happy' Hogan, reports Entertainment Weekly. Uma Thurman, Paul Walker, Mindy Kaling and More To Receive Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The revelation came during a recent interview of the Russo Brothers with Vanity Fair. When discussing Iron Man's death, quoted by Entertainment Weekly, Anthony said: "Part of the pressure came from Jon Favreau, who called us up after he read the script and said to us, 'Are you really going to kill Iron Man?'"

Joe added: "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 gonna devastate people, and you don't want them, you know, walking out of the theatre and into traffic.' We did it anyway."

Entertainment Weekly notes that Tony Stark dies in the film after sacrificing himself to help bring down Thanos. Fans were heartbroken. In the collector's book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Russo brothers recount that Robert Downy Jr. cried when he first learned about Iron Man's fate in the film. Jon Favreau Birthday Special: From The Mandalorian to Iron Man, Five of The Lion King Director’s Best Disney Projects.

Thankfully, there were no Avengers-induced incidents of distraught fans running into busy streets, and the movie went on to be a massive critical and commercial success, scoring a whopping $2.79 billion at the global box office. At Comic-Con, it was revealed that two more Avengers movies are on the way.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 30, 2022 01:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).