Robert Downey Jr.’s ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame is one of the most important scenes in the entirety of the MCU. We have never truly felt the weight of death in this cinematic universe before the end of Tony Stark. According to Kevin Feige, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine’s iconic and emotional end in 2017’s Logan convinced the makers to chalk out something similar for Iron Man.
Although Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow faced her end even before Tony Stark, 2021’s Black Widow proved to be her swansong in the superhero universe. Many people may argue over the nature of her return in Black Widow but it can’t be denied that Robert Downey Jr.’s final snapping scene with the iconic “I Am Iron Man” dialogue still hit hard.
How did Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine influence Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU end?
Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine is one of the most iconic superhero castings to date. The actor aced the role and drove it to perfection with each passing project until he finally faced his fateful end in 2017’s Logan. The James Mangold directorial presented a beautiful, emotional, and memorable tale to bid farewell to the fan-favorite character.
While speaking at Empire‘s live Q&A, MCU boss Kevin Feige admitted that like most fans they also loved Logan and wanted to give a similar ending to their MCU heroes. Feige admitted that the idea of Tony Stark’s conclusion came up first and they were stuck to that. He added that like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Iron Man is also a superhero whose character has developed throughout the MCU. So they wanted his farewell to be as beautifully planned as Logan’s.
“We saw Logan like the audience did, in a theater having nothing to do with the making of that film and went, ‘oh my god, what an amazing ending for Hugh as this character.’ And there are only a handful of examples where an actor so associated with a character can go out perfectly. That’s what we desperately wanted to give Robert, and that was what our focus was on.”
Robert Downey Jr. first played the iconic superhero in 2008’s Iron Man. Since then we have observed an incredible character arc of him where he finally shreds his ego and starts caring for others by the end of the Infinity Saga. His contributions to the MCU both within the films and in real life were highly impressive and deserved the best conclusion.
Both Hugh Jackman and Robert Downey Jr.’s characters lost and learned in their superhero journey. They also earned immense respect and love from their fans. It is even symbolized in a deleted scene from Avengers: Endgame where all the other heroes knelt in Iron Man’s honor and had a moment of silence following his sacrifice to defeat the Mad Titan.
Will Deadpool 3 ruin Hugh Jackman’s Logan ending?
With Hugh Jackman returning in the highly anticipated upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, several fans were worried that the superhero’s beautiful Logan conclusion would be ruined. However, it is reported that the Ryan Reynolds film will leave the 2017 movie’s story untouched. If Reynolds’ words are to be believed then the upcoming MCU story will go for a different route, possibly taking help from time travel to make Jackman return without messing up Logan.
Ryan Reynolds said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that they devised the perfect way to plan a reunion between Deadpool and Wolverine. Hugh Jackman and Kevin Feige were happy with it and even Logan was untouched.
“We figured out a way to do it that’s Hugh Jackman approved and Kevin Feige approved, where we’re completely protecting the legacy of Logan, the way it was left off. We wouldn’t mess with that.”
Presently, the multiverse forces and time travel play important roles in the MCU. Deadpool & Wolverine will also be heavy on that. If it is executed well, the MCU can also devise a successful formula to bring back iconic characters for big-budget crossovers, like they did with Spider-Man: No Way Home and are also planning to do with Avengers: Secret Wars.
Deadpool & Wolverine will be released on July 26, 2024.
