Avengers: Endgame will mark the end of the current Marvel era of storytelling, and several key players are rumoured to be bowing out. Chris Evans (Steve Rogers, aka Captain America) has already strongly hinted that he’s on the way out, and now Gwyneth Paltrow has come out and said outright that the new film will be her swansong as Pepper Potts.
“I’m a bit old to be in a suit and all that at this point,” the 46-year-old told Variety.
“I feel very lucky that I did it, because I actually got talked into it.
“I was friends with [Iron Man filmmaker] Jon Favreau. It was such a wonderful experience making the first Iron Man and then to watch how important it has become to fans.”
But hinting that she may not be killed off, as many will perhaps fear, Paltrow confirmed that she’d be happy to return for a small cameo in the future.
“I feel honoured to be a part of something that people are so passionate about,” she added.
“Of course, if they said, ‘Can you come back for a day?,’ I will always be there if they need me.”
It has been rumoured that Paltrow could suit-up as Rescue one last time in the new film, which is due in cinemas in April.
As far as we know about Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), he’s adrift in space with little-to-no help of being saved.
So could Paltrow’s Pepper play a part in helping him back to Earth?
Stark is also rumoured to be killed off at some point in the film, so if this is indeed the case, it would make sense for Pepper’s time in the MCU to also come to a close, given how tightly-knitted their arcs have been.
Paltrow first played Pepper way back in 2008’s Iron Man; reprising the role for Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Spider-Man Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War.
Avengers: Endgame is out on April 25 in the UK.