Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts has been part of the MCU since the beginning with the first Iron Man film and, since then, she has been a constant presence in Tony Stark's life and even joined the climactic battle in Avengers: Endgame.
However, ever since the start of Phase Four, the character has been notably absent as she was nowhere to be seen in films and TV shows despite the Stark Industries' continuing presence in the background.
While it is understandable that Tony's death may have upended Pepper's subsequent appearances after Endgame, you can argue that she still could have appeared for cameo appearances. There are recent and upcoming projects in which they could have included her based on the story.
Now, the Oscar winner has shed some light on her absence in the MCU post-Endgame.
Gwyneth Paltrow Addresses Pepper Potts' Absence Post-Endgame
During a Q&A session on her Instagram stories (via The Direct), Paltrow was asked by a fan why she stopped making appearances in the MCU post-Avengers: Endgame.
She iterated that Tony's death had something to do with her absence in the franchise since Endgame and she felt that there is no need for her character to appear without the presence of Robert Downey Jr.'s character.
"Oh my god, stop yelling at me! We just stopped doing it because Iron Man died, and why do you need Pepper Potts without Iron Man? I don't know, call up Marvel and yell at them, not me. I'm just sitting here," she said.
As we all suspected, her absence in the franchise post-Endgame is really all because of Tony's death, and Pepper Potts is mostly associated with him throughout her appearances in the MCU from the beginning.
However, Paltrow also encouraged fans to "call" Marvel Studios to ask about her potential return to the franchise which suggests that she might still be open to making more appearances in some capacity.
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There are still ways for Pepper Potts to make appearances despite Tony's death given that Stark Industries is still a continuing presence in the MCU as we've seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home where you could also argue that there was an opportunity for her to make a cameo in that film.
We could also see a way for her to show up in Armor Wars since the story has a connection to Tony Stark and she is friends with Rhodey. As long as she is alive in the MCU, Pepper could definitely show up again as long as Paltrow is also game to appear again.
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