By now you’ve probably seen the rumors. Marvel is angling to reunite the original Avengers stars, most of whom have left, in an upcoming film. This all seems to have started because it’s been a rough year for Marvel Studios with numerous films underperforming, such as Ant-Man 3 and The Marvels, while the Secret Wars series was a dud. In short, people think Marvel is starting to get desperate and calling on Iron Man to come to the rescue.
But if you were hoping that Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man would suddenly be snapped back into existence, think again. Speaking with Vanity Fair, Kevin Feige made it clear that Downey will not be coming back to the MCU and Tony Stark is really and truly gone…
“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige said. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”
Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo also weighed in, saying “We’d 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.”
Of course, with the Multiverse being a thing, nothing can ever truly be written off. Downey could come back as a different character entirely, or as a different version of Iron Man. I don’t see that happening, though. Downey was one of the most vocal stars eager to finish up his time with Marvel so pursue other projects. He’s been doing that, rather selectively, ever since. Most likely Tony Stark will live on in flashback or as an inspiration to other heroes. Or, and this is a definite possibility, we see Iron Man with a new character in the suit.
