Director Joe Russo claims that the finale of “Avengers: Endgame” left not only the audience unhappy, but also the film’s leading man, Robert Downey Jr., upset.

The Russo Brothers, along with numerous other Marvel collaborators and performers, have uncovered stories about the production of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Tara Bennett and Paul Terry’s new book, ‘The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.’

Joe said, “When we started winding down the pitch, and getting to his death, Robert started crying,”

“And when we were done, he said, ‘That’s f***ing awesome.’ That’s when we knew that we had to do it. Because he felt it.”

The Russos remembered meeting with Downey Jr. shortly after the release of “Captain America: Civil War” in 2016 to discuss the character’s future path in the book, which was released on October 19.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in “Avengers: Endgame.” Marvel Studios

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“In a way, it’s almost like a death in the family. When you’re saying to someone, ‘All these people you’ve loved and have hung out with for 10 years? That’s all gonna go away because we want to tell a story a certain way’,” Joe added.

“What we wanted to do is communicate the entire pitch to Robert, to sort of take his temperature on it, because he had so much creative ownership over the character,” Anthony explained. According to Business Insider, Joe Russo noted in the book, “We were like, ‘If Robert gets this, if Robert feels this, then we know we’re in a good place’.”

Tony Stark’s story brought tears to Robert Downey Jr.’s eyes, which is just another reminder of how important this role was to him. It’s tempting to assume that Downey’s popularity and money from the MCU were all he cared about. The actor, on the other hand, certainly has a close bond with Iron Man and cares strongly about his story coming to a satisfactory conclusion. One of the main reasons why fans continue to question whether Downey should return is because of this. Given how emotionally taxing Tony’s Avengers: Endgame plot was for Robert Downey Jr., it’s no wonder that fans have strong opinions about what Iron Man’s MCU Phase 4 future should be.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame were directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, also known as the Russo Brothers.