Original Iron Man Writers Speak out on Tony Stark's Fate in Avengers: Endgame

Recent years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have seen filmmakers who have proven their abilities crafting multiple entries into the franchise. Avengers: Endgame, for example, was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, marking their fourth entry into the series and it was written by Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, making it their sixth film in the series. The MCU launched with Iron Man back in 2008, which was written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. The pair's latest film, Men in Black International, hits theaters this weekend, with the duo looking back on Tony Stark's trajectory and the impact of the series.

WARNING: Spoilers below for Avengers: Endgame

"It's sad, but it had to be that way," Marcum shared with IGN about Tony Stark sacrificing himself to save the planet.

While neither the studio itself nor the audience entirely knew that the 2008 film would lead to the franchise becoming the dominating force of pop culture, leading to a number of record-breaking films, the seeds for the series were planted in that film to pave the way for the MCU. As is the mandate with many entries in the franchise, crafting one compelling story takes prominence over attempting to set up the series' future.

"What's surreal about that is ten years ago, we had no idea any of that stuff was going to happen," Marcum admitted. "When we were all coming up with the first movie with [director] Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige, we were just hoping, 'God, I hope this movie works.' We weren't thinking about 10 years and however many dozens of sequels there's been. Really, you look back at that and you're happy that everybody has seen so many movies and have fallen in love with all these different characters that sprang from the MCU."

Tony Stark may have left his corporeal form behind in Endgame, yet the impact he has had on the world, specifically Spider-Man, is something that will be felt in the MCU's future.

"His presence is very much felt. And [Peter] still obviously references this is the suit Tony gave him," producer Eric Carroll shared with press during a Spider-Man: Far From Home set visit. "Tony and Happy help him out in many ways along this movie — he's very present, he's just not in the movie."

Stay tuned for details on the future of the MCU.

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