Robert Downey Jr. recently said that he hoped his friend and protégé Tom Holland wouldn’t still be playing Spider-Man when he’s 37, which would be eighteen years after he was first confirmed as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s web-slinger. By that logic, if the franchise’s former figurehead hadn’t stepped down as Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, then he’d have no intention of sticking around past the age of 60, with 2025 marking eighteen years since he was announced as the lead in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man.
Of course, since Tony made the ultimate sacrifice at the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, barely a week has passed by without him being linked to at least one upcoming MCU project, whether it’s one of the 25 currently in development or something else entirely. Downey Jr. may have made it clear on countless occasions that he’s done with the franchise for at least the foreseeable future, but the speculation is hardly going to go away, especially after his “never say never” response in a recent interview.
In fact, insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that the 55 year-old will return to the MCU at some point and when he does, he wants to interact with Deadpool. While it would admittedly be great to see the two whip-smart and witheringly sarcastic superheroes trade verbal blows, the Merc with a Mouth won’t be returning to our screens for at least a couple of years yet, and there are still plenty of variables to consider before something like this could happen.
Of course, this is just the latest in a long line of reports from the tipster that RDJ is on his way back to the MCU, and while it can’t be definitively ruled out that Iron Man will indeed return one day, it doesn’t feel like something that’ll happen in the immediate future when he’s only just walked away.
