Avengers: Infinity War made a big impression on audiences with its genocidal conclusion, and perhaps the one dusting sequence that affected audiences the most was the demise of Peter Parker. Since Spider-Man is currently supposed to be dead, actor Tom Holland was absent from the recent Avengers: Endgame press conference, but Robert Downey Jr. was still present to reflect on his experience shooting the scene.
As it turns out, the Iron Man actor didn’t think of Peter’s dusting as anything too special at the time, feeling that it was just another crazy day on the set of Infinity War.
“I make a lot of faces, I needed some help in the editing,” Downey joked. “I remember the brothers were there. I think we restaged it once or twice. It was crazy to shoot it but it was just another day and we were doing lunch and it’s a movie.”
It was only later on when Downey saw the film himself and witnessed the reactions of viewers that he started to regard the sequence as a pretty big deal.
“Then I remember seeing it, and I saw it with this amazing kid, this Scottish kid who couldn’t go to a theater, and his reaction really effed me up,” the actor continued. “It’s one of those things where you go like, ‘Wow, I think we just made a pretty serious choice here,’ but I think audiences like that I think audiences are so smart. They require to not be fed the same drivel as even twenty minutes ago. We need novelty. I think what Kevin and the Russos do is provide that in spades.”
Fans got a painful reminder of Spidey’s demise with last week’s Endgame trailer, in which Tony Stark is seen staring mournfully at a picture of himself and Peter. At the same time, it’s become inescapably clear that this month’s release will see the wall-crawler return to the world of the living. After all, Spider-Man: Far From Home is less than three months away from release, and producers Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige have both stated on record that the film takes place after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and its upcoming sequel.
How exactly Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will reverse the snap remains the number one question. The fans certainly have their theories (even if co-director Anthony Russo says they’re all wrong), but all will be revealed when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th.