Robert Downey Jr. shares behind-the-scenes images from filming Iron Man's biggest moment in Avengers: Endgame. It's been three weeks since Marvel Studios' much-anticipated blockbuster hit theaters, but the buzz surrounding the film continues. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo from a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, Avengers 4 is the culmination of everything that has transpired in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it began in 2008. It picks up after the events of last year's Avengers: Infinity War and shows the heroes at their lowest following Thanos (Josh Brolin) successfully wiping half of the population in the universe with the Infinity Gauntlet.
In the end, the heroes were able to avenge the universe against the Mad Titan by bring back everyone that's been disintegrated out of existence after The Decimation. But their win didn't come without any losses. Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) sacrificed herself in Vormir for the team to acquire the Soul Stone. And to ensure that the future of the galaxy will no longer be threatened by Thanos, Tony Stark uses the Infinity Stones and snaps away the villain and all his minions, killing himself in the process. Now, thanks to a social media post by Downey, fans have a closer look at the filming of Iron Man's epic moment in Endgame.
Taking to his official Instagram account, Downey posted a series of behind-the-scenes images of the filming of Iron Man's snap in Endgame. A total of 10 photos chronicle the whole scene, with three cameras from different angles capturing his impressive performance. In the caption, he wrote "In the stills of the night." Fans in the comments section, on the other hand, are reliving the moment as they express their sadness over Stark's sacrifice. See the images below:
The geotag for the photo says it was shot in Fayetteville, Georgia, which means that this isn't the take used in the theatrical cut for Endgame since Iron Man isn't saying any lines prior to clicking his fingers. The Russos have talked extensively about reshooting the aforementioned scene - an idea the came to them while they were already editing the film and they felt like they needed a response to Thanos' "I am inevitable line". The idea for the MCU's inaugural hero to reply "I am Iron Man" came from the film's editor Jeff Ford, and they immediately knew that they had to rework the whole scene. Downey initially turned down the idea of redoing the bit, explaining that it's difficult to step back into the shoes of Tony Stark when he's already said goodbye to the character he played for more than a decade. But he eventually agreed to do it in a soundstage in Los Angeles.
Much like how the phrase beautifully brings Stark's arc full circle, uttering the same line from the start of his Iron Man journey at the end of his life, there's a parallel in both instances since the phrase was actually improvised in the Jon Favreu-directed film by Downey. It wasn't part of the script, but it changed the landscape on how the MCU views its heroes - not much focus in secret identities but on their personal struggles, making them more relatable to the public. It's difficult to imagine the MCU without Downey considering how tied he is with the role of Iron Man and the world it paved the way for. And while Avengers: Endgame is arguably his best outing as the character (so much so that his name's being thrown for a possible Oscar nod), the best thing about him is that he always brought his A-game every single time he played the role - doesn't matter how big or small his part was.
Source: Robert Downey Jr.
