Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark or Iron Man sacrificed himself at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but fans still have been calling for the actor to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s incomprehensible, but when you’re an actor in an MCU, you can barely do anything else. Modern superhero movies take a long time to film, especially if several actors are involved and directors have to work with their individual schedules.
With MCU now having time travel and soon there will be multiples, the dead don’t have to stay dead.
Downey Jr. spoke to GQ in a profile for Tom Holland regarding his latest film Cherry. In response to a question, he said, “It’s funny, I went into Keanu [Reeves] the other day, somewhere in Malibu, I think, and he told me he had just been filming The Matrix again; he had stepped back into that world where he once was. I asked him what it was like: ‘Like being in Australia.’ What I am saying is that Spider-Man existed before Tom Holland and Spider-Man will exist after Tom Holland. Those are facts, Tommo. Sorry.”
“Well… I’m on fire, for now. Real world to save. But never say, ”he said.
While Downey Jr may or may not return to Tony Stark ‘s role in live action, he will repeat the role through his voice anyway. He will voice Tony in the upcoming animated series What If… ?, who thinks of other situations within MCU as in yesterday if Peggy Carter had been injected with the Super serum Soldier, or T’Challa to become Star-Lord.
Tony Stark is widely regarded as the face and most iconic character of MCU, and is also credited for reviving Downey Jr. ‘s career.
Downey made Jr. Iron Man one of the most famous superheroes in the world. That says something like before the superhero was very small and not at all liked by comic book readers, not to mention the rest of us.
The first Iron Man movie was also the first MCU movie, and its critical and commercial success gave Marvel Studios the confidence to move forward with the Avengers and so on.