Summary

Robert Downey Jr. officially reveals he’d “happily” return to the MCU, citing the Tony Stark/Iron Man role as an integral part of his DNA.
RDJ says, “Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige,” the President of Marvel Studios.
Tony Stark’s ultimate sacrifice in
Avengers: Endgame
resulted in RDJ’s exit from the MCU in a heartbreaking manner, and it sure didn’t help the MCU following the conclusion of Phase 3.

It’s official, Robert Downey Jr. would “happily” return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor is coming fresh off of winning the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar for his incredible work in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. However, he was last seen giving his life to save the universe, as Tony Stark, in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. And while his friend Davis Factor took photographs of RDJ and his family at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Downey Jr. answered the question: Would he return to the MCU? Downey Jr. told Esquire:

Happily. It’s too integral a part of my DNA. That role chose me. And look, I always say, ‘Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige.’ It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.

Avengers: Endgame Release Date April 24, 2019 Runtime 180 Tagline Part of the journey is the end.

While making the MCU revelation, RDJ’s coffee spills. “Klutzy magic,” Downey Jr. says, and then he continues his train of thought:

“I’m hopefully alighting to greener pastures, because in the final analysis,
these things are meant to be signals, not signs.
They’re meant to point to something, not to be a destination in and of themselves. It’s like what
Tony Stark says to Pepper Potts when he gets out of the cave and makes it home: ‘All right, vacation’s over.
‘”

Life After RDJ in the MCU

Remember when Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) said, “Thank God for you,” while speaking to Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) at the end of Spider-Man (2002)? Well, thank God for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which made $1.9 billion worldwide in 2021, aka Tony Stark AD. Because whether it’s any of Disney’s films failing to crack a billion dollars at the box office in 2023, the utter financial failure of The Marvels, or the overall struggles of the MCU following Phase 3, life for the Mouse House and Marvel has been tough since Robert Downey Jr. walked away from the franchise following the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame.

And, honestly, unless someone was living in a cave like Obadiah Stane’s (Jeff Bridges) radical allies who kidnapped and held Tony Stark prisoner in Iron Man (2008), the death of RDJ’s beloved character is well-known around the world. It didn’t help matters that Chris Evans also decided to retire his Stars and Stripes and Vibranium shield, so that his character could live happily ever after in the past with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

And even though Anthony Mackie has picked up the mantle of Captain America, it doesn’t necessarily mean his first big-screen adventure as Cap will translate to dollar signs for Disney and Marvel Studios. Evans’ Captain America was one of the most beloved and strongest Marvel characters, so replacing him, like RDJ, has been a daunting task.

Related We’ll Probably Never See Iron Man’s Most Powerful Armor in the MCU Of all the missed opportunities to come from the MCU, the Godkiller may be the most disheartening.

When it comes to Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU exit, though, it was a heartbreaking and high-class one. Tony Stark makes the ultimate sacrifice as he absconds with the Infinity Stones and snaps his fingers to turn Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his murderous minions into dust, at the cost of Stark’s own life. “I am Iron Man,” Starks says as he saves the day and the entirety of the universe.

But with the revelation that the Oscar-winning actor would return to the MCU, writers would have to come up with something even better than, “I am Iron Man,” should Robert Downey Jr. surprisingly show up in Avengers 5 or 6. And, “Honey, I’m home,” arguably won’t cut it, but RDJ could likely pull off any line of dialogue put in front of him.

Deadpool & Wolverine
is the next big-screen entry for the MCU, and the Merc with a mouth teams up with Logan (Hugh Jackman) in theaters on July 26.