Robert Downey Jr. might have just secured his first Oscar for Oppenheimer, but he's not eager to distance himself from his Marvel history. The actor expressed his willingness to reprise his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man, stating, "It's too integral a part of my DNA."
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In a recent interview with Esquire, Downey emphasized that the role was not something he chose, but rather something that chose him. He added, "And look, I always say, never, ever bet against Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He's the house. He will always win."
Iron Man's demise in 2019's Avengers: Endgame marked one of the most emotionally impactful moments in the 33-film Marvel Cinematic Universe. While deaths in Marvel Comics are often temporary, with characters frequently resurrected, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has expressed a desire to preserve Iron Man's sacrifice.
This poses a challenge for Downey's potential return to the MCU, as the years pass. A prequel appearance would likely necessitate CG de-aging, which can appear unnatural, while a sequel return risks diminishing the impact of Endgame. Alternatively, Marvel could explore a different universe, where storytelling possibilities are endless.
The studio has delved into multiverse narratives, as seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which featured alternate versions of familiar heroes. Rumors of an Avengers: Secret Wars film reuniting the original Avengers have circulated, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
In the Esquire profile, Gwyneth Paltrow, who portrayed Tony Stark's assistant and wife Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shared an intriguing anecdote about her experience working with Robert Downey Jr. According to Paltrow, she stopped memorizing her lines for MCU films because Downey often improvised and came up with better dialogue on the spot.
Paltrow described a typical scenario where she, Downey, and director Jon Favreau would gather in Favreau's trailer in the morning. Downey would express dissatisfaction with the scripted lines, declaring, "I'm not saying these lines," and then proceed to improvise new dialogue, either in the trailer or on set.
Paltrow explained that for Downey, the key to making a scene feel alive was to keep it fresh and spontaneous, as if it were just created. She noted that many of the famous lines from the films were actually conceived just minutes before they were delivered on screen.
In the meantime, Robert Downey Jr. has a few upcoming projects. He is set to reprise his role as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock Holmes 3," directed by Dexter Fletcher, although the film has yet to be released. More immediately, he stars in "The Sympathizer," an HBO limited series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the Vietnam War, scheduled to premiere on April 14.
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