While the title arguably belongs to him seeing as he’s the one who orchestrated the most successful franchise in the history of cinema and built it from the ground up, Kevin Feige has modestly – and not entirely inaccurately – repeatedly named Robert Downey Jr. as the single most important figure in Marvel Cinematic Universe history.
It’s very easy to forget the risks that came attached to Jon Favreau’s Iron Man given the overwhelming domination the MCU has exerted over cinema across the last 15 years, but a fledgling studio had entrusted a relatively unproven director and a fallen star only in the infancy of their comeback $150 million to deliver a comic book adaptation that had the potential to change the industry forever, or kill Feige’s ambitious expansion plans in an instant.
Even trying to imagine anyone other than Downey Jr. as Tony Stark or his suit-wearing superhero alter-ego is nigh-on impossible, but Feige revealed just how differently things could have turned out during an appearance at the the University of Southern California’s graduation ceremony, where he named his first choice for the role who turned him down flat.
“It was not an easy task, but together with my team and our casting directors and our director, Jon Favreau, we culled down our list, we pinpointed the right guy, and we extended an offer to our top choice – an actor who checked all of those boxes and who we were confident would be a huge hit. And his name, of course, was Clive Owen. He passed. He was not interested.”
No offense intended, but Clive Owen as Iron Man doesn’t make a lick of sense. Sure, he’s an Academy Award-nominated actor with a string of acclaimed movies under his belt, but he doesn’t fit the character at all. Then again, maybe it’s just so hard to see past Downey Jr.’s iconic decade-long stint, but would the MCU have become what it is today with Owen leading the charge? It’s a possibility, but still highly unlikely.
