"I love you 3000." These four words broke the hearts of Marvel fans worldwide when Avengers: Endgame released last year. It has since taken a life of its own and become a pop culture phenomenon, spawning endless memes, a viral hit song, and even a promotional tour from Disney.
First spoken by Morgan Stark and later by her father Tony towards the end of the movie after his death, "I love you 3000" became one of the sweetest and most tragic lines in the MCU. As the popularity of the line grew, so did the many theories surrounding it, with speculation emerging that it is, in fact, an Easter Egg. With all of these possible explanations available, what was the real origin of this famous line?
The Theories
One of the most popular theories regarding the "I love you 3000" line was that it was a reference to the approximate combined runtime of every film of the MCU up through Spider-Man: Far From Home. While this theory certainly SOUNDED good on paper, it was inaccurate. The combined runtime added up to approximately 2,891 minutes. Even with rounding, it's too much of a stretch to say that it is a reference to the length of the MCU.
In an interview with Deco Drive, Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo debunked this theory. Joe Russo said, “No, I mean that is absolutely coincidental, we’re not that smart.” Before Anthony added, “It’s hard enough to make these movies, trying to hit a minute count like that seems off the mark.”To further debunk any theories surrounding "I love you 3000", Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed the real origins behind the now-iconic line.
Its ACTUAL Origin
Just like one of the most heartbreaking moments in Avengers: Infinity War was improvised on set by Tom Holland, Endgame's big tear-jerking line was not even in the script. It was improvised at the suggestion of Robert Downey Jr. himself. While the original script called for "I love you tons," it was later revealed by the writers that "I love you 3000" was actually something that Downey's own children would say to him, and hence was worked into the script.
It was certainly fitting for Downey to be the one to deliver such an iconic and heartfelt farewell to the MCU. Iron Man launched the MCU, and Downey has been in more Marvel films than any other actor besides Samuel L. Jackson. Even if it was not a callback to the previous Marvel films, "I love you 3000" is certainly a line that will stick around in the hearts of Marvel fans for a long time.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos.