RDJ Is Talking About an Iron Man Return Again …

I feel like Hawkeye every single time we hear about Robert Downey Jr. talking about Tony Stark: “Don’t give me hope.” We are back in it yet again, with Robert Downey Jr. saying that he wouldn’t be against a return to Iron Man. Lord, help me.

Downey was talking with Jodie Foster for Variety’s Actors on Actors series. The two worked together on Foster’s film Home for the Holidays, which I watch every single Thanksgiving. They both talked a lot about their current slate of television shows, True Detective: Night Country for Foster and The Sympathizer for Downey. 

But in the last few moments, Foster asked Downey if he would ever return to Marvel as Tony Stark/Iron Man. The character is canonically dead in his universe, but with the ever expanding multiverse, there are plenty of possibilities for him to return. And with the character of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) getting her own show, fans are hoping that her A.I. system still has Tony’s voice.

Surprisingly, Downey did not instantly say that that door is closed. Instead, he left it wide open. “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,” Downey said. “I’ve become surprisingly open-minded to the idea.”

Sorry, WHAT NOW? Downey has, in the past, made comments about not coming back, just as Chris Evans has about playing Steve Rogers. Evans being asked to return makes a little more sense because his character didn’t die in battle in Avengers: Endgame. Downey’s did. So this slight change of tune does instantly have the wheels turning in my mind about the why of it all. Because if Evans starts saying, “Maybe,” then something is up. 

Could this be for Secret Wars?

Fans have been wondering how a storyline like Secret Wars, which Marvel is currently planning, can work without pivotal Marvel characters. Is Downey’s change of heart because of that? Or is he just missing the joy and fun of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in his post-Oscar haze?

Whatever the reasoning, I am happy for a number of reasons, but mainly for Riri Williams. My girl has always been connected to Tony; it is in her name. She goes by Ironheart. But she idolized him, and the idea that the MCU version of Riri wouldn’t have that connection hurt. Peter got a storyline with him; why not Riri? If Downey were to return to the franchise, I just hope that it would be for either the Ironheart series or some moment where the two interact. 

Honestly, I am kind of excited about it. For a while, many online acted like Downey didn’t have a career post-MCU, but both Oppenheimer and The Sympathizer have proven otherwise. So for him to say now that he isn’t against a return? It leaves me hopeful for whatever it is he has planned.