Iron Man may’ve died last year in Avengers: Endgame, but it’s safe to say that he’ll continue to have an impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a little while longer. After all, his lasting legacy was a big part of Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s story and Robert Downey Jr. will be back on our screens again as Tony Stark for Black Widow, which will be with us this May.
Beyond that, it’s also been rumored that the actor may be making a few more appearances in the MCU, but only if a deal can be worked out between himself and Marvel Studios. If you’ll recall, we told you last month that Marvel wants him back in some capacity, but Downey Jr. is asking for too much money. Or at least, more than the studio is willing to pay him.
Now, the same sources who told us Taskmaster would be the villain in Black Widow almost a year ago, and that a She-Hulk show was coming to Disney Plus, both of which have since been confirmed, say that the actor is making another request if he’s to return to the MCU. And that’s that he wants Gwyneth Paltrow to return as Pepper Potts as well. From what we’ve been told, he believes she’s hugely important to Stark’s story/character and has apparently fought for her to feature in several MCU movies in the past. And though Paltrow has said already that she thinks her Marvel days are done, the studio is reportedly hopeful that they can work something out with the actress.
It’s unclear which project the two would appear in should they both decide to return, but the planned Ironheart TV show seems like a pretty good bet. Then again, we’ve also heard that RDJ is eager to work with Tom Holland again in the MCU and if Marvel found a film or TV series for the two to star in, it’d help with Downey Jr.’s decision to return.
But for right now, at least, we understand that the two biggest factors in getting him to agree to hop back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe are a sizeable payday and Paltrow returning alongside him. That being said, now that Dolittle has proven to be a box office bomb, the actor may be more inclined to go back to what’s more of a ‘safe bet.’ Here’s hoping he can work something out with Kevin Feige then and that we’ll see Robert Downey Jr. back in the MCU sooner rather than later.
