Iron Man's Avengers: Endgame Fate Was Set up in Captain America: Civil War

Prior to the release of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel fans were attempting to find any clues they could in previous entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to predict the events of the new film. Now that the film is in theaters, it's easier to look back at the MCU to find out exactly how the history of the franchise built to this moment and made this latest film feel like an inevitable payoff. Now that fans have learned of the various characters' fates, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have pointed out the clues they have included in their previous films, drawing connections that may have previously been unseen.

WARNING: Spoilers below for Avengers: Endgame

The Russos delivered a massive spectacle in Captain America: Civil War, the effectiveness of which helped secure their role in crafting the overall MCU, leading to their contributions in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Civil War marked their first collaboration with Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, which they revealed as the process that helped solidify Stark's ultimately fatal sacrifice to defeat Thanos.

"We've been working on that arc for this movie since Civil War," Joe Russo confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. "We've been setting Downey up for this particular performance for two films now."

Downey has become a key figure in the MCU, as it was his portrayal of Iron Man in the franchise's debut film that helped the series become such a success. Endgame marked the Russos' fourth entry in the series, with the film marking Downey's 10th portrayal of the character. The filmmakers revealed how much the actor's insight helped develop their contributions to the franchise.

"Joe and I are really performer-oriented," Anthony admitted. "We love actors. And a large part of our process is figuring out how we bring actors most alive in their roles and how we give them autonomy and freedom to sort of play and go to very interesting places. That's a big part of our creative process and our structural director process."

He added, "Downey is the most wonderful collaborator. He's a really brilliant filmmaker in his own right and he brings a tremendous amount of energy to the process. The way we direct him is by having very engaged and thorough creative discussions about what our vision for the movie is, about what we want to do with the character. He's very helpful in terms of helping fill those ideas out."

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now.

What do you think of the filmmakers' remarks? Let us know in the comments below!

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