Robert Downey Jr. Would Return to Iron Man for the Right Project
By Movieguide® Contributor
Five years after his character, Iron Man, sacrificed himself to defeat Thanos in AVENGERS: ENDGAME, Robert Downey Jr. shared that he is willing to return to his role as Tony Stark for the right story.
“It’s too integral a part of my DNA,” Downey Jr. told Esquire about his role in the MCU. “That role chose me. And look, I always say, never, ever bet against Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”
While Marvel could use a major win after several years of lackluster movies and shows, the return of Tony Stark or any of the other Avengers whose stories have ended will not happen on a whim. Feige, Marvel’s studio boss, has been protective of the characters whose stories have ended so as not to cheapen their deaths.
For Downey Jr. to return, it would almost certainly be in a prequel movie, perhaps similar to the BLACK WIDOW movie. Alternatively, he may appear in a storyline in an alternate universe, a story piece the MCU has been comfortable exploring in the post-Avengers era.
The return of other members of the original Avengers cast in the upcoming movie AVENGERS: SECRET WARS has leaked over the past couple of years. However, nothing of the sort has ever materialized.
Even if Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU were to be leaked, the way it played out would likely change significantly during filming. According to his co-star Gwyneth Paltrow, Downey Jr. is notorious for changing his lines and improvising on set.
“There would be this process of [director] Jon Favreau and Robert and I going into Jon’s trailer in the morning and Robert being like, ‘I’m not saying those lines’ and then throwing them out,” Paltrow said. “And then live impov-ing either in the trailer or on the set.”
“I think in order for something to feel alive for Robert, it has to feel fresh, and he makes it fresh by making it feel like it was just invented,” she continued. “So many of those famous lines were written 10 minutes before we said them.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Downey Jr. returning to the MCU:
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that Robert Downey Jr. and his iconic Iron Man character will not return to the MCU.
In a profile on Downey from Vanity Fair, Feige said, “We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again. We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”
Downey Jr. last appeared in 2019’s AVENGERS: ENDGAME, where his character sacrificed himself to save the universe.
Although fans hoped Tony Stark would somehow return, the actor decided to hang up the suit.
ENDGAME director Joe Russo explained, “We’d already said tearful goodbyes on the last day of shooting. Everybody had moved on emotionally. We promised him it would be the last time we made him do it—ever.”
- Content: +3Share:
- Content: +3