Kevin Feige Confirms Logan Inspired Iron Man’s Endgame Death, Reigniting a Major Hugh Jackman Controversy

I love a clean ending. Audiences do too. That is why Hugh Jackman going out in Logan and Robert Downey Jr. bowing out in Avengers: Endgame hit so hard. Now both guys are back in the Marvel sandbox, and the vibes are... complicated.

Feige says Logan inspired Tony Stark's goodbye

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige told Empire that Stark's fate in Endgame was directly shaped by the punch-in-the-gut ending of Logan. He was in a theater, had the same reaction most of us did, and immediately connected the dots to Robert Downey Jr.'s exit.

Oh my god, what an amazing ending for Hugh as this character. That’s what we desperately wanted to give Robert, and that was what our focus was on.

That is a pretty candid peek behind the curtain: the emotional blueprint for Tony's last stand came from Logan's final chapter.

The clean goodbyes didn't stay clean

Fast-forward and the landscape looks very different. Jackman returned as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine, which delivered the comic-accurate suit moment fans have begged for since forever. It was a rush... and also divisive. A chunk of the audience felt Logan was such a perfect farewell that bringing him back, years after that movie, undercut the grace of his exit.

And now, RDJ is back too — not as Tony, but as Marvel's big bad.

RDJ as Doctor Doom: the plan, the tease, the backlash

Marvel says Downey will play Doctor Doom in Phase 6. He has already made a quick, teasing appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. On paper, it is a wild swing: the face of Iron Man stepping into one of Marvel's greatest villains. Cue the split reactions.

Pretty disappointing. I love Downey but I'd much prefer a lesser known actor for Doom.

I don't know about this... Doctor Doom is my FAVORITE Marvel Villain... of like... ALL TIME... RDJ IS Iron Man, I cannot see him as anyone else other than Tony Stark... He is a great actor, but not gonna lie, would have preferred someone else in the role...

— Profesor Macabro (@MacabroProfesor), July 28, 2024 — pic.twitter.com/mdHf9lT67V

Some fans see it as messing with the symbolism of Iron Man's sacrifice. Others are curious to see Downey go full villain. Either way, the endgame (sorry) for this comeback looks like Avengers: Doomsday — where we actually find out what kind of Doom he is playing.

So how does Doomsday thread this needle?

Bringing Downey back after Endgame is both shrewd and tricky. For Marvel, it is a financial no-brainer. For RDJ, it keeps the MCU legacy alive while letting him try something new. Here are the smart paths forward I can see based on what Marvel has set up so far:

• Tie Doom to Tony without undoing Tony: A story that acknowledges Stark's shadow — thematically or through legacy tech — without resurrecting him, keeps Endgame intact while letting Downey play against that memory.
• Go all-in on a brand-new character take: Treat this Doom as a totally separate identity with a fresh arc, leaning on Downey's range to make you forget you ever called him Tony.
• Lean multiversal: Doom has universe-spanning stories. Using variants and alt-realities gives Marvel license to separate the Iron Man era from this new role cleanly.

The clock is ticking

We will see how it plays very soon by MCU standards. Avengers: Doomsday is set for December 18, 2026. Between now and then, expect more teases, more debates, and probably a few more carefully placed quotes from Feige about why this all makes sense. For now, we are living in the strange timeline where two of the best superhero endings in recent memory are also the beginnings of the next big Marvel chapter.