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Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man will not return to Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kevin Feige reveals why
Robert Downey Jr. gained global recognition for starring as Tony Stark/Iron Man in ten films within the MCU, starting from Iron Man till Avengers: Endgame.
Robert Downey Jr. won over fans from around the world when he took on the character of Tony Stark in 2008's Iron Man. However, he will not be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, confirms Kevin Feige. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the president of Marvel Studios finally talked about the rumours that the original Avengers would be returning in the near future. (Also read: Jon Favreau says Robert Downey Jr. was in talks to play another Marvel character)
What Kevin Feige said
Talking to Vanity Fair, Kevin Feige talked about Tony Stark's final emotional moments and 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.”
In the same interview, the director also talked about the initial doubts over Robert Downey Jr's casting. He said, “It purely came down to the Marvel board being nervous at putting all of their chips in their future films on somebody who famously had those legal troubles in the past. I wasn’t very good — and I’m still not great — at taking no for an answer. But I also don’t pound my chest to try to get my way. I try to figure out ways to make it as clear to other people why we should head in a direction. And that’s when the idea of a screen test came up.”
More details
Robert Downey Jr. gained global recognition for starring as Tony Stark/Iron Man in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Iron Man (2008) and up till Avengers: Endgame (2019). Earlier this year, director Jon Favreau had revealed that the actor was interested in playing a different character altogether.
Meanwhile, Robert was last seen in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which is one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. The actor's performance in the film as Lewis Strauss is already gaining widespread awards season attention.
