After the emotional conclusion of Avengers: Endgame, fans unanimously agree that the Avengers will never be the same without Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as fan favourite Iron Man. Fans of Marvel are already feeling the absence of RDJ in Phase 4, which has been lambasted for its poor quality and inconsistent storytelling.
Two months ago, RDJ made an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, when Rogan speculated on the actor’s possible return to the MCU as the “brilliant, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” Tony Stark.
Robert, though, merely responded, “To me, starting up again is off the table. I feel like I’ve done all I could with that character.”
Will Robert Downey Jr. Ever Return As Iron Man ?
Robert said that his comeback to the Marvel universe has to be fleshed out carefully and excitingly enough for him to get pumped about the part again: “There would have to be a super compelling argument and a series of events that made it obvious. But the other thing is, I wanna do other stuff.” He said.
Rogan tried to make a case on behalf of millions of fans to get RDJ to think about coming back to those movies. “Here’s what I think, they go through a few semi-lacklustre Avengers movies without you. There’s a moment where the world’s fate is at stake and they’ve realised they need a super genius. Then, they figure out how to restart that time machine. You step out of that machine and the entire crowd goes wild,” said Rogan.
During a recent interview with Deadline to promote Netflix’s documentary on his father Robert Downey Sr., he was asked, “What do you miss most about being the centre of the Marvel Universe? he said, “What I miss most? Being in the trenches with Kevin Feige throughout; the beginning with Jon Favreau, it’s like a beautiful dream now; the middle, with Shane Black on Iron Man 3, we’d just had Exton and shot it mostly in Wilmington, NC. It was idyllic and subversive. And The End, when I realized I’d made so many close friends in the MCU cast, and the Russo Brothers helping me embrace Tony’s arc.”
Going through the rumour hill, there were a ton of them with RDJ returning to the MCU in the form of AI, or voice in Avengers: Secret Wars and just lately, it was speculated that he would be voicing his character in What if….? Season 2 which all remain to be a rumour; moreover, in a separate media appearance last year, Don Cheadle said that Tony Stark’s death could play a role in the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film Armour Wars.
Should RDJ Return to the MCU?
If and when Robert Downey Jr. returns to the popular superhero movies remains to be seen. However, if I were to give my opinion, I think he should not return to the MCU since doing so would render his sacrifice in Endgame meaningless and would have a negative impact on his character arc in the MCU. In the alternative, if RDJ were to reprise his role as Tony Stark’s variant at any point, I don’t have a proper answer to that As RDJ said, “There would have to be a super compelling argument and a series of events that made it obvious.”
Read: Robert Downey Jr. Responds to Marvel Criticisms, ‘Let’s Just Get Over It’
