Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Tony Stark/Iron Man for nearly 15 years throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he has grown more open-minded to a potential return.
Speaking to Jodie Foster as a part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Downey was asked whether or not he’d ever return to the iconic superhero role.
The legendary actor joked that he still looks good enough to do it, and has warmed up to the idea.
“It’s just crazily in my DNA. Probably the most like-me character I’ve ever played, even though he’s way cooler than I am. I’ve become surprisingly open-minded to the idea. Between Nyad and [True Detective: Night Country] and, for me, Oppenheimer and then Sympathizer, it really is crazy because we look pretty good. I was actually looking at the stills we were taking, making sure: ‘Do we still look kind of OK?’ I’m like, ‘We look pretty good.’”
Robert Downey Jr. helped usher in the MCU
First appearing as Tony Stark/Iron Man in 2008’s Iron Man, Downey’s role as the superhero is often credited as helping usher in the superhero genre of films that would dominate the 2000s.
In total, the actor would appear in 10 different Marvel Cinematic Universe films spanning from 2008 to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Downey’s last appearance in an MCU film came in Endgame, in which Tony Stark dies after defeating Thanos. Since his final Marvel Studios film, Downey has starred in a number of projects, most notably 2023’s Oppenheimer, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
