At the time it was released, Jon Favreau’s Iron Man was viewed as simply the latest in a long line of blockbuster comic book adaptations, albeit a much bigger gamble. Not only was it the first self-financed project from the upstart Marvel Studios, but the movie also featured a title character that general audiences weren’t too familiar with, led by a star who had just embarked on the comeback trail after some heavily-publicized personal issues.
Looking back, the cinematic debut of Tony Stark turned out to be one of the most important big-budget movies ever made. Iron Man turned Downey Jr. into one of the biggest stars on the planet and served as the launchpad for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a groundbreaking strategy of establishing several independent franchises that all told a single interconnected story, and now Marvel Studios reigns supreme as the biggest and most lucrative brand in all of Hollywood.
As the face of the entire franchise, Downey Jr. was hugely integral to the success of the MCU for over a decade, with Iron Man undoubtedly the studio’s flagship character and the driving force behind several of the most important plot threads. However, all good things must come to an end, and Tony Stark bowed out gracefully at the climax of Avengers: Endgame, having come full circle from self-involved arms dealer to the man that ultimately saved the entire universe.
It was a fitting swansong for someone who had been a pivotal part of the franchise for so long, and allowed RDJ to step away from his career-defining role in order to pursue other avenues. The actor has been adamant that his time playing Iron Man was well and truly over, despite several reports to the contrary, but now in a recent interview to promote Dolittle, the 54 year-old once again makes it sound as though he isn’t entirely ruling out a return to the MCU at some point in the future.
“I’m not sure. Are we bargaining now? I am so pleased, just that, I wound up where I have. I’m very fortunate so, I’m not the kind of guy who, I want to try and keep it classy. We’ll see.”
Downey Jr. has already joked that he quit playing Iron Man because the money stopped rolling in, and there’s little doubt that Marvel would throw a ton of cash in his direction if he ever changed his mind, but with the MCU set to bring in countless new heroes in Phase Four and beyond to drive the franchise forward, it can be argued that it doesn’t really need Tony Stark any more.
