Avengers: Endgame concluded an 11-year arc for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s founding father. Robert Downey Jr. first began playing Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man and quickly cemented himself as the evolving franchise’s cornerstone, appearing at the end of The Incredible Hulk one month later to remind fans that a team was being assembled. That team came together in The Avengers (2012) and expanded the MCU into the cosmos, setting up a multi-film crossover arc revolving around the Infinity Stones that would not completely culminate until 2019. When that ultimate series finale hit theaters, the Tony Stark that audiences knew from the original Iron Man was almost a completely different person.
Sure, he was still a genius billionaire philanthropist, but the playboy days were long retired. Stark married Pepper Potts and became a father, taking his life far from the pomp and circumstance spotlight and instead to a quiet cabin in upstate New York. Stark’s daughter, Morgan, has only appeared in Avengers: Endgame thus far, where she was four years old for her entire screen time.
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Avengers: Endgame Deleted Scene Shocks Fans
In another timeline, audiences would have gotten glimpse into Morgan’s future.
In an Avengers: Endgame deleted scene that recently resurfaced on social media, Tony Stark is transported to the Soul World (Waystation) after snapping his nanotech Infinity Gauntlet. This is the same realm that Thanos was sent to after he snapped his fingers in Avengers: Infinity War. Just as Thanos was confronted by his adopted daughter, Gamora, Tony is confronted by his daughter, Morgan. While Thanos saw a younger version of Gamora, the Gamora he had first met years prior, Tony sees his four-year-old all grown up to her teenage years played by Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why).
“It worked?” Tony asks.
“Yeah,” Morgan replies. “It worked for me. I got to live and grow up. For you, I can’t answer.”
“I’m sorry, I think I might have made a bad decision,” Tony says back. “I’m scared that I made a mistake.”
“I know, and I know it’s going to be tough for you to let go,” Morgan responds. “But if someone had to do that so the rest of us could… I’m proud of you. And sad. I’m strong, like mom. And I’m happy. I’m happy that we had the time that we did and that you were there for me until you couldn’t be.”
“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” Tony concludes. “I love you 3000.”
This scene was revealed back in 2019 in the months after Avengers: Endgame hit theaters but is still finding its way to new audiences. When it began cycling through Twitter again earlier this week, many responded by asking “is this real?” and “how haven’t I seen or heard of this scene before?”
Other fans applauded the creativity of the Soul World moment between the father-daughter duo but added that it was smart to cut it from the final Avengers: Endgame product.
“I wish I went the rest of my life having never seen this. Tony’s sacrifice doesn’t need any second guessing by him in limbo essentially. Were extremely fortunate this wasn’t in the Final Cut,” user @SaltyBuc91 wrote.
“The dialogue was so bad! Lmao I know they were making a touchy moment but yeah it’s better without this. Tony being sure of his sacrifice was all these movies were being built up to,” user @ChuckFresco wrote.
Langford herself has also commented on the scene getting axed, noting in November 2019 that it was “such an honor” to play Morgan Stark even if her lone scene wasn’t part of the final cut.
“I’m such a huge fan of the Marvel films,” Langford said. “So when Marvel reached out to me to play Iron Man’s daughter, that was such an honor. Ultimately it didn’t make it into the film and creatively that makes sense and that’s totally fine.”
Avengers: Endgame is available to stream on Disney+. Robert Downey Jr. is set to make his return to the franchise in 2026, this time portraying Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.
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Image Credit: Marvel Studios
