Happy Hogan Was Almost Killed Off in IRON MAN 3, Luckily Jon Favreau Convinced Them Not To

Iron Man director and Happy Hogan actor Jon Favreau almost didn’t make it out of Iron Man 3 alive. The original plan was to kill off the character, which would have been a shame because I’ve enjoyed seeing his journey continue in the MCU!

Favreau recently appeared with Kevin Feige on the red carpet of the Spider-Man: No Way Home premiere and it was there that Feige recalled all of this and how a note written by Favreau saved his character from death. During a live-streamed interview with TikTok, Feige shared:

"Since like 2006... it's been a wonderful collaboration and friendship. It's so great to be part of the Spider-Man trilogy now, as well as the Avengers movies. I've said this many times, the MCU would not be what it is without Mr. Favreau at all. Obviously Iron Man, obviously everything there, but staying the heart and soul of Happy Hogan is what's really amazing."

Feige went on to talk about the original plan for Iron Man 3 and how Favreau saved Happy, saying:

"There was a little difference in the script than the final movie, which was that Happy died. Jon had a note — that is one of the most important notes he gave us at Marvel — which was, 'What if Happy was severely injured but did not die?'"

Favreau then chimed in to confirm that all of this is true:

"He's not lying! It's true, it's true. They accommodated it, and I'm so happy I've been a part of this and being able to be there with Tom Holland since the beginning. He's such a pleasure to work with, and [Spider-Man director] Jon Watts, who is incredibly talented, it's just fun to continue this relationship [with Marvel Studios]. It is a big part of my life, and these people are friends and also people I work with." 

Yeah, I’m pretty happy that Happy didn’t die! It’s a good thing that Marvel took Favreau’s advice! It was great to see him back in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and I’m pretty confident that this film is not the last that we’ll see of him.