Robert Downey Jr. ‘Surprisingly’ Open To MCU Iron Man Return, Which Is Easily Possible

Variety has its “actors on actors” series of interviews where two especially hot-right-now pairs of actors interview each other about their past work and acting in general. This year, Jodie Foster got paired up with recent Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr. who has some surprising thoughts about his most famous role.

Foster asks him what he would think of “putting the suit back on again for Tony Stark.” Here’s his answer:

“It’s just crazily in my DNA. Probably the most like-me character I’ve ever played, even though he’s way cooler than I am. I’ve become surprisingly open-minded to the idea.”

Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame, saving the universe, is essentially the pinnacle moment in the entire MCU timeline. You could argue that the success of Iron Man and Downey effortlessly embracing the role is why the entire MCU exists in the first place.

When you think about it, it is not all that crazy that Downey Jr. is willing to return to a role that made him tens of millions of dollars and made him the centerpiece of the highest-profile film series in the world. However, previously he had said he was worried that his time as Stark and essentially only Stark had made him rusty for other movies like Oppenheimer. When asked about that potential problem back in 2023:

“Yes. A hundred percent, and I knew there was a point where Chris Nolan was endorsing, let’s work those other muscles, but let’s do it while rendering you devoid of your usual go-to things.”

But you know, then he went on to…win an Oscar for that role, so perhaps he has proven to himself he can still act the hell out of other parts when he wants to, so why not go back to Tony after grabbing that golden validation statue?

Of course the idea might cheapen Tony’s death a bit, and I know at least some fans may not want this to happen. But since Tony’s death, there really has not been anyone to replace him. His protégé, Spider-Man, isn’t in the same role. His buddy, Rhodey, has been a Skrull half this time. Ironheart, a comic evolution of his armor-suit concept, is getting a lower profile Disney Plus show after an odd guest debut in Wakanda Forever. There’s not the Captain America problem where Steve Rogers returning would displace Sam Wilson taking the literal shield and name. No one has picked up his mantle.

In short, there’s still room for him, and Disney may want his return as a big draw to get people back into the MCU. This is also the world of comic books, and there are infinite ways dead characters can come back to life. The most obvious one currently would be the multiverse, as there are infinite Downey Jr. Tony Starks in infinite other worlds so you can just pop one out of a portal and he’s back. There’s time travel too, though that was already heavily leaned on in Endgame. You could clone him and regrow him in a lab, I don’t know. The point is, there are options.

I don’t know how I feel about it. I’m tempted to say no, let him rest, but I don’t blame Downey Jr. for being “open” to the idea of returning.

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