Even though Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice and gave his life to save the universe at the end of Avengers: Endgame, almost as soon as the movie faded to black, talk had already started about a potential return. As the face of the entire MCU for over a decade, Robert Downey Jr. is virtually irreplaceable, and death has never exactly been an obstacle that the comic book genre can’t overcome.
RDJ is already lined up for a cameo in Black Widow, but as a prequel, that doesn’t affect his status in the main timeline. Marvel were reportedly keen to secure his services for further projects, too, including an Ironheart series on Disney Plus, but the actor’s financial demands were said to be a stumbling block. One that he’s since softened his stance on following Dolittle’s dismal performance at the box office.
We previously heard that Marvel were considering the idea of having Tony Stark voice the AI interface of Spider-Man‘s costume as well, and we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel shows were in the works for Disney Plus, and that Taskmaster would be the main villain of Black Widow – that this could end up happening as soon as Spider-Man 3. At least, having Tony as an AI is in the current draft of the script, with the studio said to be talking about it with RDJ and seeing if they can work something out.
Of course, the bond between Peter Parker and Tony Stark onscreen is as strong as the one between Downey Jr. and Tom Holland in real life, and with Tony’s shadow looming large over Spider-Man: Far From Home, it makes sense from a storyline perspective that even death wouldn’t stop him from gifting new technology to his protege. Not to mention that the notoriously vain character wouldn’t be able to resist the opportunity of voicing the AI himself.
