Disney’s stable of cinematic superheroes has grown exponentially over the years, with the likes of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, and the Guardians Of The Galaxy adding texture and weight to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s core ensemble. As such, the franchise can afford to cut a few heroes loose, and, though Avengers: Endgame is teasing an end for at least one (maybe two?) of the old guard, we’ve now got confirmation that another of the MCU’s progenitors will definitely be retiring their cape.
Gwyneth Paltrow, the snake oil peddler who’s played Pepper Potts since 2008's Iron Man, says she plans on abandoning the character after Endgame. “I mean, I’m a bit old to be in a suit and all that at this point,” Paltrow said. “I feel very lucky that I did it, because I actually got talked into it. I was friend with [Iron Man director] Jon Favreau. It was such a wonderful experience making the first Iron Man and then to watch how important it has become to fans.”
That said, she does clarify that she’d be willing to leave her upcoming Netflix talk show “for a day” to film a cameo or, ominously, “appear in flashbacks.” We know that things aren’t looking good for Pepper’s boo, but we’re still in the dark as to whether or not she survived the Infinity War culling. If not, could she resurrect Rescue to save Tony from outer space? She is the stone-cold killer of the MCU, after all.