Earlier this month, Robert Downey Jr. expressed his interest in reprising his role as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although the Oscar winner is game to suit back up as the billionaire playboy philanthropist, Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo, better known as the Russo brothers, aren’t sure about the likelihood that Tony Stark could return to the MCU.
Speaking with GamesRadar at the Sands: International Film Festival, the Russos voiced their confusion surrounding Downey’s comments about a potential return to the superhero franchise.
Warning: Spoiler for Avengers: Endgame below.
“I don’t know how they would do it,” Anthony Russo told GamesRadar. “I don’t know what the road to that would be."
“I mean, we closed that book, so it would be up to them to figure out how to reopen it,” Joe Russo added.
Rumors that Marvel Studios was considering bringing back Downey and actors from the original Avengers film for a new film were first sparked by a November Variety report. Despite Avengers: Endgame’s final act serving as a prime example of previously deceased (or "blipped") Marvel heroes returning from beyond, Marvel head Kevin Feige refuted the claim it was mulling over bringing Iron Man back. Speaking with Vanity Fair, Feige said Marvel Studios would never “magically undo” Tony Stark’s emotionally climactic death in Avengers: Endgame.
“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige told Vanity Fair. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”
Prior to winning an Oscar for his supporting role in Oppenheimer, Downey portrayed Tony Stark for 11 years in the MCU. The role, which resparked his career, also made him one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood during the height of the MCU.
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
