Examining the Possibility of Robert Downey Jr.'s Return to the MCU

Despite some rumors of him returning in ‘AVENGERS: SECRET WARS’, Marvel exec confirms that Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man is "no longer on the table" at Marvel Studios. 

 

Iron Man, one of the most beloved characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, met a tragic end in the blockbuster hit "Avengers: Endgame." Since then, fans have been wondering if we will ever see Robert Downey Jr. reprise his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man. While some hope that he will make a miraculous return, a Marvel executive has stated that Iron Man is gone for good. In this blog post, we will explore the possibility of Iron Man's return and examine the reasons why Robert Downey Jr. may or may not come back to the MCU.

In an interview with Forbes in 2019, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was asked about the possibility of Iron Man's return. He stated, "I mean, we're certainly not doing it anytime soon. I think Tony Stark was able to achieve something that had never been done before. And it was so...unique, it was so...memorable and it went to an extent and a depth that even his death has been a massive impact on all of our characters. We're not talking about it for years and years and years."

However, a Marvel Studios executive confirms that a return from the actor is “no longer on the table.”

This was uncovered by means of Marvel Studios VP of Production and Development Stephen Broussard, while talking with io9. He made sense of that Phase 4 of MCUwas about "a new generation stepping to the forefront.” Accordingly, past characters like Tony Distinct otherwise known as Iron Man are as of now not their concentration.

He explained,

“Well, I think one of the meta-narratives of Phase Four was about new characters. It was about new people stepping into mantles. If you look at, like, Cassie [Lang in ‘Quantumania‘] getting a suit and Kate Bishop [in ‘Hawkeye‘], new characters being introduced like Jack in Werewolf by Night. After these first 10 years of Marvel storytelling, torches are being passed, like with Robert Downey Jr. no longer being on the table and stuff like that. So it was kind of like a new generation stepping to the forefront which, again, has always happened in the comics.”