Infinity War Directors Confirm Tony's Son Was Not a Vision

Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo reveal that Tony Stark having a son was just his dream. Marvel Studios' 10th year offering brought together all pockets of the MCU in one spectacle as Earth's Mightiest Heroes took on Thanos. Due to the sheer number of heroes, several characters were admittedly cast to the side, while others were at the forefront of the battle against the Mad Titan, including Iron Man, fittingly so considering the supervillain has been tied to Tony Stark's personal arc since 2012's The Avengers.

Early in Infinity War, Tony told Pepper that he had dreamt of having a son, reiterating that it felt so real, he started to believe it but his fiancee directly said that it's not the case. Before Tony could interrogate her further, Doctor Strange appeared along with a baffled Bruce Banner, whisking the genius, billionaire to the Sanctum Sanctorum to talk about the imminent arrival of Thanos. Despite Pepper's answer, some fans have been wondering if she's bluffing. That is, until now since the Russo brothers confirm Tony's dream is nothing more than that - at least for now.

During the Vudu-hosted viewing party in celebration of the release of Infinity War on digital (which was live-tweeted by The Avengers' official Twitter account), Joe and Anthony Russo took several fan questions, one of which was asking whether or not Tony's dream is real. While the directing duo said Tony's son is nothing more than a figure of his imagination, they did add that dreams are "mysterious." And considering Tony's long history with visions, chances are that his dream of having a child might mean something more moving forward. Check out the tweet below:

The fact that it has been emphasized that Tony's greatest strength is his brain, there's a lot to be said about his premonitions, which come in various forms, including dreams. In Iron Man 3, he was continuously haunted by the idea of another extraterrestrial attack on Earth following the Battle of New York. This was heightened by the Scarlet Witch-induced vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron that led him to create Ultron. Over the years, it became obvious his gut feeling that there was something "out there" threatening the safety of the universe was weighing on him. Come Infinity War, his greatest fears came to fruition, and while the original Avengers survived Thanos' deadly snap, Peter Parker dying in his arms was enough for him to believe his visions are his brain's way of tipping him off if that something big is about to happen.

Avengers 4 set photos showed that the film will feature a significantly aged Stark revisiting the Battle of New York one way or another. This prompted fans to theorize there could be a time-jump between Infinity War and it's still-untitled sequel wherein Stark would have already married Pepper and have their own kid. However, due to the traumatizing events of Avengers 3, not to mention Doctor Strange's enigmatic words implying that there is still a way to defeat Thanos, Tony will continue to find a way to restore order in the universe.

Of course, it's also possible that Tony's dream of having a son is a sign of something else. Perhaps it's foreshadowing that his time as a superhero may be nearing its end, but a second-generation of heroes is poised to keep his legacy alive, more likely Spider-Man, who he's been mentoring for a few years now. It's no secret that Robert Downey Jr. is among several MCU actors whose contracts are ending after Phase 3, which might mean that Tony's arc could be wrapped up in Avengers 4.