After ‘Avengers: Endgame’ “Mistake,” Disney May Be Revisiting Tony Stark’s Ending
For years, Marvel fans treated Tony Stark’s ending in Avengers: Endgame (2019) as untouchable. Final. Sacred, even. It was the emotional full stop on a character who helped launch the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. But lately, that sense of closure doesn’t feel quite as firm as it once did.
Not because Marvel has openly admitted regret. Not because Iron Man has returned outright. But because the studio’s recent moves suggest Disney may be quietly rethinking how permanent that ending was meant to be.
At the center of the conversation is Robert Downey Jr.’s unexpected return to the MCU—this time not as Iron Man, but as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday (2026). On the surface, it sounds like clever casting. Dig a little deeper, and it starts to feel like something more intentional.
The Ending That Worked… Maybe Too Well
Tony Stark’s death worked because it landed emotionally. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t reversible. It felt earned. For many fans, that moment still represents the MCU at its best—character-driven, patient, and willing to let go.
Related: Report Hints at Chris Pratt’s Potential Return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
But that same strength may now be a problem.
Since Endgame (2019), Marvel has struggled to recreate that emotional anchor. New heroes have arrived. The multiverse has exploded. Stakes have risen. Yet something has felt missing. The MCU lost its central gravity when Tony Stark exited the story.
That doesn’t mean killing him off was wrong—but it may mean the door was shut a little too tightly.
A Return That Feels Carefully Framed
Marvel didn’t bring Downey back as a nostalgic cameo. They didn’t resurrect Iron Man with a wink and a smile. Instead, they placed him on the opposite end of the moral spectrum, wearing the face of a villain.
That choice matters.
If Doctor Doom turns out to be a Tony Stark variant—something Marvel has not confirmed but fans can’t stop discussing—it reframes Endgame (2019) in a fascinating way. Tony Stark still died. His sacrifice still mattered. But the idea of “Tony Stark” didn’t disappear. It fractured.
Suddenly, Marvel isn’t undoing an ending. It’s examining it.
Why Disney Might See Endgame as a Narrative Limitation
From a business standpoint, Tony Stark is Marvel’s most valuable character. From a storytelling standpoint, he’s also the most flexible. Genius. Ego. Trauma. Redemption. Those traits don’t vanish just because one version of him died.
The multiverse gives Marvel permission to explore paths Tony never took—especially darker ones. A Tony Stark who never learned humility. One who chose control instead of sacrifice. One who decided the world needed saving whether it wanted it or not.
That’s not erasing Endgame (2019). That’s interrogating it.
The Risk Marvel Is Willing to Take
Of course, this move isn’t without danger. Revisiting Tony Stark in any form risks reopening emotional wounds fans were told had healed. If handled poorly, it could cheapen one of the MCU’s strongest moments.
But Marvel seems willing to take that risk. Because the alternative—never touching Tony Stark again—may be limiting the franchise more than protecting it.
Disney doesn’t need to undo Tony’s ending to revisit it. Sometimes, all it takes is asking a new question.
And Avengers: Doomsday (2026) may be Marvel’s way of finally doing that.
