Robert Downey Jr. Opens Up About a Possible Return to Marvel

Robert Downey Jr. has played plenty of roles throughout his career, including his recent Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer. But to many people, he’s just known as Iron Man. Downey has been playing the character in Marvel movies since 2008’s Iron Man, which officially introduced the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. Though his on-screen journey seemingly came to an end in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Downey thinks one should never say never. 

Downey reflected on his time in the MCU in a new interview with Esquire. When asked if he would return, especially now as an Oscar winner, he didn’t hesitate with his answer. “Happily,” he stated plainly. “It’s too integral a part of my DNA. That role chose me. And look, I always say, never, ever bet against [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”

Feige, for his part, has pretty much closed the door on Iron Man ever returning to the MCU considering his storybook ending in Avengers: Endgame. “We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige told Vanity Fair in December 2023. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”

Related: Robert Downey Jr. Is ‘Happy’ He’s Done With Marvel Movies

Asked a month later on Rob Lowe’s Literally! podcast if he’s gotten any Marvel offers, Downey simply replied “Not just yet.”

If anything, Downey’s Iron Man could return in some sort of prequel movie before his inevitable demise in Avengers: Endgame.