Marvel Had Already Been Planning Robert Downey Jr.’s Return Since 2023
Kevin Feige personally went to Robert Downey Jr.'s house to convince him to return to Marvel. And the plan was ready long before you thought.
Robert Downey Jr.‘s return to Marvel was planned long before you imagined.
Yes, the idea of bringing the actor back to the MCU didn’t come out of nowhere. According to Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, talks about Downey Jr.’s return had been happening since early 2023 – more than a year before the official announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024.
In a statement to the website Fandango, Feige got straight to the point. According to him, the friendship with the actor never faded after Endgame.
“Since Endgame, we saw each other constantly. For a long time it was said: ‘What could we do and how could we bring him back?'”, the producer revealed.
Kevin Feige personally went to Robert Downey Jr.’s house!
The plan gradually took shape, and in early 2023 everything became more concrete. Feige said he went to the actor’s own house to pitch the idea in person. The result? Downey Jr. was excited about the proposal.
And the proposal was bold: he wouldn’t be coming back as Tony Stark, but as Marvel’s greatest villain, Doctor Doom. For an actor who spent more than 10 years building an iconic hero, the turnaround is huge.
It’s worth remembering that the actor’s return was announced around the same time as negotiations to fire Jonathan Majors, who played Kang, the original villain of the Multiverse Saga.
Many fans speculated that Marvel brought Downey Jr. back at the last minute precisely because of this crisis. Feige clearly wanted to debunk that version with his statement.
In any case, what still remains a mystery is how exactly Victor Von Doom connects to Tony Stark within the story. Marvel is saving that explanation for the movie itself.
In addition to Robert Downey Jr., the cast of Avengers: Doomsday also includes the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, along with the Thunderbolts, the Wakandans, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. In other words, the hero reunion promises to be historic.
The film hits theaters on December 18. And with each new piece of information that comes out, anticipation only grows.
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