It’s one of those moments that’s already become instantly iconic with fans. In the epic finale of Avengers: Endgame, Thanos boasts “I am inevitable.” In response, Tony Stark looks back at him and says “I am Iron Man,” before snapping his fingers with the Infinity Gauntlet, wiping out Josh Brolin’s villain and his forces and bringing an end to the Infinity Saga.
It’s weird to think, then, that Robert Downey Jr. didn’t want to shoot the scene at first. In fact, it was something added in during reshoots and apparently, the actor wasn’t interested in going to such an emotionally-devastating place again to film it. Thankfully, producer Joel Silver was on hand to convince him otherwise and, well, the rest is history.
But as it turns out, “I am Iron Man” was only one line that writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely came up with for the scene. Speaking with Empire, the scribes revealed that other ideas included Tony saying “f*ck you” and “f*ck off” to Thanos.
“I think there was f*ck you at one point. Didn’t he say f*ck off? He may have said it…you do a lot of takes. Like can we really end all this on a complete swear? On a kiss my ass Thanos.”
Admittedly, it probably would’ve been just as awesome to see Stark throw either of those lines at the Mad Titan instead of “I am Iron Man,” but either way, it all worked out in the end as it was truly an incredible moment and by going with the line they ultimately chose, it brought the MCU full circle.
But despite his demise in Avengers: Endgame, we may not’ve seen the last of Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As you may’ve heard, he’s rumored to return in an upcoming MCU film and though that may cheapen his death just a bit, it’s hard to imagine anyone complaining. After all, more RDJ can only be a good thing.