With Marvel and the MCU under something of a challenge right now, after a perceived drop-off in quality and the latest entry, The Marvels, on course to be their lowest grosser ever, there has been much speculation of a return for some well-loved characters, namely Chris Evans as Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man.
Chris Evans has already denied anyone at Marvel speaking to him about it. Now Marvel supremo Kevin Feige has been clear and direct. There are no plans for Robert Downey Jr. to return as Tony Stark after his death in Avengers: Endgame, sacrificing himself to reverse Thanos’ blip.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Feige says despite the multiverse, Downey’s emotional end to his arc was important, impactful, and must be preserved:
“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.”
Joe Russo, who co-directed Avengers: Endgame, revealed Downey doesn’t even want to shoot additional dialogue, even for Endgame, once his final scenes had been shot:
“We already said tearful goodbyes on the last day of shooting. Everybody had moved on emotionally. We promised him it would be the last time we made him do it—ever.”
Downey Jr. became one of the best-paid actors in the world with his later MCU efforts, so won’t be hurting financially with much drive or need to return to the MCU. His recent role in Oppenheimer placed him in one of the year’s most successful movies.
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