Avengers: Infinity War Cut Two Noteworthy Cameos, Reveals Iron Man Actor Robert Downey Jr.

Avengers: Infinity War Cut Two Noteworthy Cameos, Reveals Iron Man Actor Robert Downey Jr.

Avengers: Infinity War star Robert Downey Jr. and filmmaker Joe Russo have revealed two cameos that were cut from the 2018 blockbuster, with the latter later teasing his and Anthony's approach to Doomsday.

News
By JoshWilding - Aug 24, 2026 07:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War was released in 2018 and set the stage for the Infinity Saga's epic conclusion in Avengers: Endgame. By making Thanos the movie's lead, it became an MCU blockbuster like no other, especially as it ended with the heroes losing.

By the time the credits rolled, the Mad Titan had successfully snapped half of the universe out of existence. Along the way, fans were treated to all manner of team-ups, surprise cameos, and shocking farewells.

In a new interview looking back at Avengers: Infinity War, Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. and co-director Joe Russo revealed that two cameos were cut from when we first caught up with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts on Earth.

"We had a Happy Hogan cameo in this scene that we reshot, then we 86'd it," Downey revealed, confirming that Jon Favreau was ultimately left on the cutting room floor. Russo then chimed in, revealing that he played a member of the paparazzi who chased Tony and Pepper through Central Park before presumably being chased off by Happy.

Tony's bodyguard returned in Avengers: Endgame when he comforted Morgan Stark at his old boss's funeral. As for Joe, he made a poorly received cameo in the 2019 blockbuster as the gay leader of a post-Blip support group. 

Elsewhere in the conversation, Russo touched on following his and Anthony's previous Avengers movies with Doomsday and Secret Wars. 

"These have obviously been harder than the other ones for that reason, right? As the stakes keep going up. But emotional complexity is always the answer," the filmmaker shared. "You bring emotional complexity to anything, and it enriches it and makes it a fuller experience for the audience. It surprises you."

"There are a lot of surprises in this, and I think it’s the most emotionally complex of all of them. In a lot of ways, the most mature of all of them," Russo continued. "We’ve been very fortunate enough, as collaborators, Robert and I, to be able to do this over and over again. And knock on wood, we can do it two more times."

Downey, meanwhile, mentioned that he got to hear composer Alan Silvestri's Doctor Doom theme on the fourth day of production. That had an impact on how he approached the villain, and he used the music to help him maintain Victor Von Doom's point of view. 

You can hear more from Downey and Russo on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Doomsday in the player below.

Never miss a story! Set ComicBookMovie.com as a preferred source on Google
About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.
Marvel Fan Spots AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR VFX Blunder Which May Ruin One Of The Movie's Biggest Moments
Related:

Marvel Fan Spots AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR VFX Blunder Which May Ruin One Of The Movie's Biggest Moments
Resident Evil Director Zach Cregger On Fan Backlash And Key Changes He Made After Test Screenings
Recommended For You:

Resident Evil Director Zach Cregger On Fan Backlash And Key Changes He Made After Test Screenings

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?
Want to contribute?
Nonameforme
Nonameforme - 8/24/2026, 7:43 AM
Wow gif
Simonsonrules
Simonsonrules - 8/24/2026, 8:22 AM
Seemed to me that Cap was the leader of the support group. And I don't recall it being poorly received, though I can imagine who was upset
ItsAllOurBlood
ItsAllOurBlood - 8/24/2026, 10:11 AM
@Simonsonrules - Josh is turning this site into a nest for bigots and hate to keep the web traffic rolling with all the angry losers in the comments. The scene was received well by anyone with a functioning frontal lobe.
Hobmoblin
Hobmoblin - 8/24/2026, 11:01 AM
@ItsAllOurBlood - Yeah I don't remember anyone talk about it
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 12:06 PM
@Simonsonrules - "poorly received" is not the same as people being "upset" over it.

There are memes and vids that mock that very scene because it is soooooo on the nose lol.

That sequence was the weakest wink, nod and bone thrown to try to score points with LGBTQ culture who funny enough, complained most loudly over that scene if I remember it correctly, because they saw that scene as being a cynical ploy by a corporation to try to make their stuff appear to be in lockstep with gay sentiments to get more of those gay dollars lol.

Disney was ramping efforts up at that time to try to gayify more of their things on the surface level, as later that same year they also inserted another cynical sequence in Rise of Skywalker with the blink-and-you-miss-it kiss scene between two female resistence fighters.

Anyhow, there, I remembered it for you and @ItsallOurBlood, to be clear this was not just a moment that annoyed conservatives but the LGBTQ community as well.

Just saying, in this instance, Josh was not incorrect as it was poorly received, amazingly by both of ends of the political spectrum :)

Overall the movie was a massive success obviously showing that neither gay nor conservative culture *really* cared that much.
Vigor
Vigor - 8/24/2026, 12:16 PM
@Lucasberg - why can't someone just be gay without it being considered pandering? Why can't someone simply exist with melanin without it being DEI?

My new boss is gay and has said "my partner" when referring to his significant other several times. Is he pandering?
ItsAllOurBlood
ItsAllOurBlood - 8/24/2026, 12:58 PM
@Lucasberg - I ain't reading all that. I'm happy for u tho, or sorry that happened.
Simonsonrules
Simonsonrules - 8/24/2026, 1:35 PM
@Lucasberg - Well, I am not a LGBTQ person, but I found the scene simply reflective of reality in the United States in the year 2018, particularly on the East Coast. I think what bothers you about it is that Captain America was depicted as tolerant and empathetic to people different than him. If that is cynical, or somehow "in lockstep with gay sentiments," then I guess I'm a cynic. And "get more of those gay dollars lol"...wow. Yeah. Okay. Sounds like the scene meant a lot to you, though. Next time I watch it I'll remember that.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 2:11 PM
@Simonsonrules - The cynicism was Disney pretending to be on the side of LGBTQ stuff by featuring blink and you miss it moments in their franchise movies.

In the past with the MCU it was often random to the story and forced upon the flow of these movies when they did this stuff. Similar to the girl power moment later in Avengers: Endgame or the side gay romance in Eternals. Did either of those things organically rise up out of the story or elements in either of those movies? Answer no. Marvel studios inserted these moments to make a statement. Same as what they did with the Russo gay dating Endgame scene and the female kiss in Rise of Skywalker.

If you're going to go there in these movies it really shoudln't be to make a statement. It should be organic and sensible to the story instead of feeling shoehorned in there. The Deadpool movies featured this sort of thing organically enough with the Megasonic Teenage Warhead mutant and it fit the flow of things well enough. But overall, its best to kind of stay off these topics altogether with these big mainstream epics. These movies are more about good versus evil and self sacrifice as the highest virtue. That's the big deal again and again. These do not work as effective vehicles for queer theory or feminist lectures and are not designed to work that way...and as previously mentioned, when Disney drops these elements in their movies randomly, it results in offending not just conservatives but also the groups these corporate shills imagine they're pandering to.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 2:12 PM
@ItsAllOurBlood - I receive your happiness and apology to me. Thanks
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 2:15 PM
@Vigor - I'll share my response here. In answer to your questions:

Characters can be gay without it being pandering.
Characters exist with whatever melanin without it being DEI.
Your boss is not pandering.

Here's the response I wrote below that I think addresses what motivates your questions:

"The cynicism was Disney pretending to be on the side of LGBTQ stuff by featuring blink and you miss it moments in their franchise movies.

In the past with the MCU it was often random to the story and forced upon the flow of these movies when they did this stuff. Similar to the girl power moment later in Avengers: Endgame or the side gay romance in Eternals. Did either of those things organically rise up out of the story or elements in either of those movies? Answer no. Marvel studios inserted these moments to make a statement. Same as what they did with the Russo gay dating Endgame scene and the female kiss in Rise of Skywalker.

If you're going to go there in these movies it really shoudln't be to make a statement. It should be organic and sensible to the story instead of feeling shoehorned in there. The Deadpool movies featured this sort of thing organically enough with the Megasonic Teenage Warhead mutant and it fit the flow of things well enough. But overall, its best to kind of stay off these topics altogether with these big mainstream epics. These movies are more about good versus evil and self sacrifice as the highest virtue. That's the big deal again and again. These do not work as effective vehicles for queer theory or feminist lectures and are not designed to work that way...and as previously mentioned, when Disney drops these elements in their movies randomly, it results in offending not just conservatives but also the groups these corporate shills imagine they're pandering to."
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 2:17 PM
@Vigor - Also, for the record: Every time I read one of your comments I hear the comment in Paul Bettany's voice as Vision lol
Vigor
Vigor - 8/24/2026, 3:03 PM
@Lucasberg -

"Every time I read one of your comments I hear the comment in Paul Bettany's voice as Vision"

That's intentional lol. I find the character relatable and charming in his reserved intellectualism and thoughtful nature of interacting with others

Also I strongly disagree with your assertion that it's pandering. I think its intended to inject diversity yes. But since I live in a region (outside Philadelphia area) that has a lot of diversity including gay people, it comes off as normal to me. Im seeing how people raised in rural areas (Nebraska lol) or homogenous parts of the states have their minds blown at the thought that there exists people different than them.
Also know i was born and raised in the suburbs of New York and spent a lot of time in NYC. We look at diversity different than the rest of America
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 3:24 PM
@Vigor - I've lived in SoCal (greater LA) my entire life. I'm 43 now. My neighborhood (and the skater crew I rolled with) was loaded with diversity but we never thought of it like that. None of these things are strange to me.

Race swapping sometimes is fine with me (again if its done due to talent, NOT to reach a quota).

Making sex and gender stuff part of the topic of these comic book movies is a disservice to everyone. Seriously. Regardless of how downtown Philly thinks about this (or LA!) the world is still very divided about living out these desires. The dominant religious and moral viewpoints historically (and still currently) view this lifestyle as sinful.

If someone believes the world and its religions should be accepting of LGBTQ as healthy and normative it is beside the point. The point is THESE TOPICS ARE POLARIZING!

DC or Marvel or Star Wars are needlessly dividing their audience if they decide to weigh their fingers on the scale in one direction or the other on these issues.

Let these issues continue to work themselves out in the public square and in movies where the topics can actually be discussed and addressed. But portaying a side as settled on this issue in a Marvel or Dc movie regarding a cultural topic that is still totally divisive is useless.
Vigor
Vigor - 8/24/2026, 3:37 PM
@Lucasberg - i mean it's kind of insane though right? Gay people exist. You agree?

So because an ancient text says to hate these types of human beings, then we should pretend in movies that they don't exist? Why are we accepting this? That's literally accepting a lie to appease insecure people

Maybe some of the people working on these movies are gay themselves. Are we to tell those story tellers that they can't include people like them in the movie because it will offend others? How do you think that makes a gay person feel?

Me personally I'm on this planet to have fun but also leave it better than I found it. I'm not going to let appeasing others be the thing that holds me back from either of those two goals
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 4:21 PM
@Vigor - The idea "how do you think that makes a person feel" comes from these ancient texts you refer to (do to others as you would have them do to you)... and the message in the biblical text is clear that hatred is condemned. So do you really think the call in the biblical text is hatred when it opposes the gay lifestyle as damaging for people's flourishing and as out of step with their nature? Just like it opposes sex outside of marriage or sex with someone else's spouse, the Scripture's claim is that the prohibition against these things are conveyed from love, not hatred.

One problem with this whole discussion is that somewhere along the way culture bought into defining people by their desires. This is clearly wrong. There are whole hosts of desires that we understand do damage to a person if they indulge them (alcoholism, substance abuse for quick examples)...

Anyhow, we are illustrating how this issue is polarizing lol

For the record, groups on the outlier by their nature will not typically find tons of representation that directly correlates to their exact situation. You will scarcely find a one legged superhero. The one legged man who exists ought not despair that he is not exactly represented though because if these movies are done well, they convey UNIVERSAL IDEALS that people across all groups can resonate with: the virtue of a man laying his life down for others; a puzzle fittingly solved; the thrill of a Hulk decimating entire floors of a building lol

The X-men movies did a fantastic job of capturing universal ideas and appeal without being ham fisted or polarizing. In fact these did so good that both gay groups and non found messaging that was appealing in those, which was essentially *fearing and hurting those you don't understand* is WRONG.

Anyways, western culture has labored to make many of our idiosyncratic sexual urges universal and ultimate but they're really not and these type movies *actually* staying with universal themes works best.
Simonsonrules
Simonsonrules - 8/24/2026, 7:49 PM
@Lucasberg - Sounds like the Bible informs your thinking. That's fine, but the obfuscation is not. Just say that you're bothered by gay people. You'll find plenty of supporters on this site, so no need to worry about feeling alone. Sheesh. Maybe it never occured to you but the role of Captain America is to stand up for the little guy, I.e. the bullied. The "universal" (hilarious, as it implies uniformity) is not in need of protection. It's those on the outside for whom it is a radical thing to stand up. But whatever man. Whatever.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 9:35 PM
@Simonsonrules - I’m not “bothered” by gay people. There’s no obfuscation going on. I said what I believe. It happens in fact to be views held for thousands of years. The Bible does inform my thinking as I’ve not found a better solution to the guilt that follows everyone around nor a better explanation of human nature: that we are all fallen and yet beautiful being made in God’s image.

Universal does not imply uniformity. Instead what’s meant by that is the common experience that all share. Comic stories (and fantasy stories) do best touching on experiences that we all share (and there are loads of them). Sexual identity being counted as virtuous by contrast is not a view or experience shared by all - not even close.

I’m not looking for support here (though of course camaraderie is always fun). I’m just sharing what I believe. I like to share my views and hear others views. I’m assertive with my beliefs but I don’t discount others views. It’s healthy to have one’s views challenged
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/24/2026, 9:48 PM
@Simonsonrules - To add: being a smaller group does not make one oppressed or inherently “bullied”. You can be all those things and not be a victim group. Captain America as a character is supposed to be defending against evil, tyranny, and yes bullying from oppression. Counting LGBTQ as victims and bullied because a Christian expresses the biblical position about that is absurd. If someone is calling for violence against LGBTQ or tyranny against them then that would be unjust. But pointing out that shoehorning pro LGBTQ messaging into comic book movies is cringy is not oppressive. It’s just stating what is observed by many many viewers and again, is uselessly polarizing. Disney are not helping any pro lgbtq cause by doing this stuff and they’re just alienating half their viewing audience in the process
dragon316
dragon316 - 8/24/2026, 8:51 AM
Gay leader
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 8/24/2026, 8:54 AM
Thrilling
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 8/24/2026, 10:10 AM
I feel like we knew of the Happy Hogan cameo in IW since they released a deleted scene about it….

?is=50mjHymHv34G2a5c

It’s a fun bit but can see why it was cut since it’s not wholly necessary to the overall film.

Also , I can’t wait to hear Alan Silvestri’s Theme for Doom , they played it when RDJ showed up on stage at Comic Con and some fan did a recreation of it and if it’s similar then it sounds rather gothic and chilling imo!!.

?is=AI1kcKSh57deuxDP
MMFRESHSW2
MMFRESHSW2 - 8/24/2026, 2:11 PM
we dgaf
CreateNowSlpL8r
CreateNowSlpL8r - 8/24/2026, 5:33 PM
"As for Joe, he made a poorly received cameo in the 2019 blockbuster as the gay leader of a post-Blip support group."

What an odd inclusion to this article.

Anyway, I don't remember this being poorly received. I remember some talk of the LGBT community calling it out for a blink and miss it moment. Now the scene where somehow only the female characters unite in the middle of a battle field? Yes, because it was contrived and stupid. Not because it was women.
Simonsonrules
Simonsonrules - 8/24/2026, 7:44 PM
@CreateNowSlpL8r - Precisely. Well said

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

Related Headlines
Latest Headlines

Hot Headlines Hot Headlines

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Anime & Manga

Gaming

Horror

Cartoons & Animated Features

Auto Racing

Action Movies & TV

Pro Wrestling & MMA News
View Recorder