Robert Downey Jr. Says Iron Man Could Return To The MCU

iron man

Marvel Studios


Here’s the wonderful thing about comic books: the rules of the real world simply do not remotely apply.

Characters big and small come back from the dead as often as you and I eat cereal for breakfast. Timelines are obliterated as rapidly and regularly as a toddler’s Lego set. Superpowers exist.

The point is, comic books have no rules, and ipso facto, according to the transitive property — one of the literal handful of things I remember learning in math — comic book movies are lawless as well.

And that is why Robert Downey Jr. is not talking out of his ass when he half-jokes that Iron Man could one day return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe because it’s enitrely fucking possible. 

Disney knows how valuable he is — imagine how much money they’d rack in if they figured out a way to work him into a one-off flick? They’re doing exactly that with Black Widow and I’m telling you right here and now that movie will flirt with a billion dollars. And you know who likes money? Disney and RDJ — that’s the bottom line.

Just months after the character died in Avengers: Endgame and Marvel Cinematic Universe star Robert Downey, Jr. bid a dramatic farewell to the franchise he helped to build, Downey says that fans may not have seen the last of his take on Tony Stark.

During an appearance in support of Dolittle, which he made with his wife Susan, Downey told Extra that he is more or less done, but that you can never say never. While he said it somewhat casually, Susan immediately interjected to tell him that remark was going to be the next day’s headline, with hose Renee Bargh voicing her agreement. [via ComicBook]

While Iron Man’s full-time role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is largely done and dusted, there is a more than solid chance he shows up in some capacity in the future, especially when considering the rumors that Marvel Studios plans to eventually adapt Secret Wars to the big screen, which could see OG Avengers such as Iron Man show up in a one-off capacity.

With the way that the MCU operates in multiple different timelines (and soon to be multiple different realities), Iron Man making an eventual return appearance down the road is certainly a viable option for the franchise.

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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @eric_ital for movie and soccer takes or contact him eric@brobible.com

Eric Italiano BroBIble avatar
Eric Italiano is a NYC-based writer who spearheads BroBible's Pop Culture and Entertainment content. He covers topics such as Movies, TV, and Video Games, while interviewing actors, directors, and writers.