Iron Man’s death went through several development stages and was, at several points far more gruesome in Avengers: Endgame.
While speaking to Insider, the various people behind the effects of Avengers: Endgame broke down the thought process behind Iron Man’s death. They knew that they had to think of something that was serious enough to where it was clear Iron Man was not coming back but not to where it would freak the audiences out:
“We did go several rounds on that guy from grisly to not so grisly to more light of a touch, back to OK this is the spot where we think the audience is not going to get too freaked out, but also really understand that Tony has reached the point of no return.”
Before they got to this point, Iron Man’s death in Avengers: Endgame had far more gruesome designs which included a point where his eye popped out of his head due to the power of the Infinity Stones:
“We gave the filmmakers a full range [of looks] to choose from and one of those was where the energy from the stones had acted right up into his face and popped one of his eyeballs out and it was hanging out on his cheek. They didn’t go for that one.”
Later on, they did another design for Iron Man that was more along the lines of the look of Harvey Dent in the 2008 film, The Dark Knight:
“We did do a Two-Face version where you got inside and you saw the sinews and you saw them in the teeth and that.”
It was decided however that this look for Iron Man’s death was also a bit too far:
“It takes you away from this really powerful moment. You don’t want to be focusing on that or grossed out.”
Ultimately they decided to go with something that was a proper mix of the two in Avengers: Endgame. Specifically, they went with something that showed that Iron Man was done but also something that wasn’t too disturbing that would distract from Robert Downy Jr.’s performance:
“When he’s collapsing against the tree stump, you’ve got to know that he’s in a really bad predicament, that he has made this terrible sacrifice. But then you also didn’t want it to distract from his performance. And it’s a really subtle performance that he has in those intimate moments with Spidey and then with Pepper. So yeah we definitely worked quite hard on achieving that one, but we got there.”
What do you all make of this? Do you think Iron Man’s death could have been a bit more graphic in Avengers: Endgame? Was it just the right mixture? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Iron Man was last seen in Avengers: Endgame. Here is the plot synopsis for the film:
The grave course of events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out half the universe and fractured the Avengers ranks compels the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studios’ grand conclusion to twenty-two films, “Avengers: Endgame.”
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin.
Avengers: Endgame is now available on Digital HD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.
Source: Insider
