Had it not been for Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow would have never been in ‘The Avengers’!

2012’s The Avengers is widely regarded as one of the best movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date, perfect just the way it is. But little do fans know that the film wasn’t always supposed to unfold the way it did. In fact, this version only reached fans because of Robert Downey Jr., their favorite Oscar winner and former Tony Stark portrayer.

The Avengers (2012)

As it turns out, the original version that filmmaker Joss Whedon had planned for the movie wasn’t meant to include any of the supporting characters from the previous movies in this film at all, which included Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts as well. But then Downey Jr. stepped into the picture and went against Whedon’s decision, just to include his character’s love interest in it, too.

Joss Whedon Originally Planned The Avengers to Exclude the Supporting Characters

Although The Avengers is perfect just the way it is, it wouldn’t have been so without the help of the former Iron Man portrayer. This is because Joss Whedon, who helmed the masterpiece, originally had different plans for the supporting characters from the previous movies.

According to what the filmmaker himself shared during one of the film’s press junkets, his initial decision was to exclude all the supporting characters from the previous movies that eventually led up to this movie. And by all supporting characters, he did mean all supporting characters.

As many fans must have noticed in the movie there were hardly any other supporting characters from all the other superheroes’ character arcs. Needless to say, this would have ostensibly included Gwyneth Paltrow‘s Pepper Potts as well, had it not been for one major change.

Paltrow as Pepper Potts in the MCU

As shared by the Los Angeles Times, Whedon’s reasoning behind this decision was: “You need to separate the characters from their support systems in order to create the isolation you need for a team,” claimed the filmmaker.

However, as fans already came to see in the movie, Paltrow’s Potts was most certainly in the movie and was given quite a few perfect build-up scenes for the same as well. For the record, this was all thanks to Robert Downey Jr., who went against Whedon’s original decision for the same.

How Robert Downey Jr Eventually Ended Up Bringing Pepper Potts Into the Picture

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the 2012 movie

As fans already know, the Iron Man films that preceded this 2012 superhero movie had already established Paltrow’s character as Tony Stark’s love interest. This is why Downey Jr. felt it necessary to include her iconic character in this movie as well.

“But Pepper, this was really Robert’s thing. He pushed hard… He really thought Gwyneth would bring something great to the table, and we all thought so as well, but he was the one who convinced her to come and do it.”

Pepper Potts and Tony Stark in the MCU

Plus, adding to this was how the Dolittle actor strongly felt that Potts was necessary for his character’s personal growth and development, which eventually turned out to be true, as was seen in the later movies. “He didn’t want to be sort of, crazy alone guy, he wanted to be crazy in-a-relationship guy,” Whedon said.

Well, for what it’s worth, both Downey Jr. and Tony Stark ended up proving just how true this one decision was for the beloved character, especially when it came down to Avengers: Endgame.

You can watch The Avengers on Disney+.