Iron Man director Jon Favreau tried to save Tony Stark from his Avengers: Endgame fate.

During an interview with Vanity Fair, the Russo Brothers explained how they received a phone call from Favreau begging them to reconsider.

“Part of the pressure [not to kill Tony Stark] came from Jon Favreau, who called us up after he read the script… and said to us, ‘Are you really going to kill Iron Man?’” revealed Anthony Russo.

“He did. Yeah,” added Joe Russo. “And I remember pacing on the corner of a stage on the phone with Favreau trying to talk him off a ledge.”

Iron Man debuted in 2008 under Favreau’s direction – essentially kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. But Favreau has also appeared throughout the MCU as Happy Hogan, Tony’s security chief, and best pal… so it’s nice to see he was still in Tony’s corner.

Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame was one of the most powerful moments in the entire MCU, cementing Iron Man in legend while providing the perfect exclamation point to Tony’s story.

But Favreau was having none of it.

“Because he’s like, ‘You can’t do this,’” said Joe. “‘It’s gonna devastate people, and you don’t want them, you know, walking out of the theater and into traffic.’ We did it anyways.”

Ultimately, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely agreed with the Russos – this was the perfect note for Iron Man to end on… and it made so much sense.

“Everyone knew this was going to be the end of Tony Stark,” said McFeely.

“We had the opportunity to give him the perfect retirement life, within the movie,” added Markus. “[He already got that]. That’s the life he’s been striving for. Are he and Pepper going to get together? Yes. They got married, they had a kid, it was great. It’s a good death. It doesn’t feel like a tragedy. It feels like a heroic, finished life.”

Iron Man fans may feel his absence to this day, but it was the heroic end Tony deserved.

Want to read more about Marvel’s Avengers? Check out our guide to Marvel’s Phase 4 plans, as well as everything Marvel announced at San Diego Comic Con.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

IGN Prime has partnered with Magical Time Bean to bring you the Game of The Month. The atmospheric puzzle platformer Escape Goat 2.

Stemming from the creative and talented mind of Ian Stocker the former AAA composer who put architected sound design and musical composition for classic handheld titles such as the Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings and Sims turned indie developer and immediately started developing and releasing games.

First announced under Doublefine Presents indie label in 2014, Escape Goat 2 was the follow up to 2012's original Escape goat which met critical success on Steam and on the Xbox Indie distribution Xbox Live Indie Games which was dedicated to allowing developers to launch their own games on the platform.

We are proud to have such a classic indie game to showcase for the game of the month and to partner with such a veteran developer.

Make sure to check out more from the Magical Time Bean Catalog, and support indie devs!

Escape Goat: https://store.steampowered.com/app/251370/Escape_Goat/

Escape Goat 2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/255340/Escape_Goat_2/

Soulcaster 1&2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/460970/Soulcaster_Part_I__II/

Prime members click here to claim your PC key for Escape Goat 2!

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Despite being comic book nemeses, Shazam and Black Adam don’t appear to be crossing paths any time soon despite both characters having upcoming movies in the works at DC.

“There hasn’t really been a conversation about that,” says Shazam Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg when asked by Collider if there are any plans to finally pit Zachary Levi’s Shazam against Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam.

“I know, at the moment, Black Adam is sort of its thing and Shazam is its thing. Then we’ll see where it all goes in the future, but I haven’t really been a part of any conversations like that.”

In the comics, Black Adam is the first champion chosen by the Wizard, something that was alluded to in the 2019 Shazam film. This origin story will be further explored in the Black Adam solo film coming later this year.

While Sandberg’s comments hint that there may be a crossover at some point, it’s a bit strange that these two characters still won’t crossover with each other. But considering how well the first Shazam movie handled its origin story without Black Adam, perhaps it’s not such a huge roadblock.

With the DC film universe going their seemingly separate ways, there doesn’t appear to be an appetite to re-create the MCU at Warner Bros. The Batman starring Robert Pattinson launched its own series, while the Snyderverse keeps on chugging with the news that Ben Affleck’s Batman will appear in Aquaman 2.

How do you feel about the many directions of the DC Film Universe? Sound off in the comments below.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

The revival of DC's Milestone Comics imprint continues with the release of the brand-new documentary film called Milestone Generations, which debuts July 29th on HBO Max.

The film, directed by Justice A. Whitaker and narrated by Cliff “Method Man” Smith, features new interviews with Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan and archival footage of Cowan's fellow co-founder, the late Dwayne McDuffie. Other key comics industry voices including Paul Levitz and former DC Comics publisher Jenette Kahn are also interviewed, offering insight on the massive influence Milestone wielded during its brief '90s heyday thanks to titles like Icon, Hardware, Blood Syndicate and Static.

In addition, the film chronicles 2021's relaunch of the Milestone banner by DC and the Milestone Initiative, a program to identify, support and elevate emerging diverse writers and artists within the comic book world.

Co-founder Denys Cowan told IGN during a conversation at SDCC that the documentary offers validation for the trailblazing work Milestone did in addressing the lack of storytellers of color in the comics industry. "It's something I'm very proud of, what we did," Cowan told IGN.

While representation remains an issue for comics publishers today, the lack of diversity was even more pronounced back in the Bronze Age. Even when African-American heroes like Luke Cage and Black Lightning were launched in the 1970s, white creators often handled the storytelling.

In the documentary, Cowan relates a story of how a conversation with comics legend Jim Steranko in 1989 planted the seed in his mind that would help give birth to Milestone.

"I shared this story in the film, how Jim Steranko had been approached by a major comics publisher and asked to create black comic book characters," Cowan recalls. "Jim came up to me [at a comics show] in New York City and said, "I don't think I'm the right man for the job. Do you know who might be?" And that was like a light bulb going off for me."

That talk with Steranko, whom Cowan considers a huge influence, showed the artist that the opportunity existed to fill a vacuum in comics. A few years later, Milestone would be created to do just that.

Milestone Generations is available to stream now on HBO Max.

For even more on Comic-Con, be sure to brush up on everything that was announced at the show, and see IGN's picks for the winners of Comic-Con 2022.

Every year, one of the true highlights of San Diego Comic-Con is roaming the retailer booths and admiring the many action figures, statues, busts and other collectibles on display. This year's show certainly didn't disappoint, with plenty of stunning new pieces for collectors of all budgets and interests.

From Sideshow's striking Star Wars Mythos: Darth Vader statue to Queen Studios' creepily realistic Captain America bust to Hasbro's wonderfully nostalgic retro figures, these are the collectibles that wowed us the most at this year's Comic-Con:

If you want a deeper dive into some of the products on display at Comic-Con, check out the links below:

• Sideshow Collectibles, Hot Toys, Iron Studios and Pure Arts Booth
• Hasbro's Marvel Legends: Black Panther – Wakanda Forever Figures
• Queen Studios' Marvel and Horror Busts
• Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series – The Mandalorian Season 2 Figures
• Bandai's Dragon Ball Exhibition
• Mondo Toys Batman & X-Men Figures
• NECA SDCC 2022 Exclusive Figures

For even more on Comic-Con, be sure to brush up on everything that was announced at the show, and see IGN's picks for the winners of Comic-Con 2022.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.