Robert Downey Jr. will not be back as Tony Stark and Iron Man as confirmed by the head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige.
Rumors have offered that The Avengers could re-assemble and that Robert Downey Jr. will be back in Avengers: Secret Wars or a Nomad series along with Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, but that is not happening.
In a lengthy featured Robert Downey Jr. interview with Vanity Fair, the article includes quotes from Kevin Feige. It’s remarked that Marvel is known for bringing back characters from the dead, with it noted that Feige says that won’t happen to Stark.
“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige said. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”
Never has to say goodbye again
Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo also weighed in and offered they promised Robert Downey Jr. he would never have to say goodbye again.
“We’d already said tearful goodbyes on the last day of shooting. Everybody had moved on emotionally,” Joe Russo said. “We promised him it would be the last time we made him do it—ever.”
Anthony Russo added, “That was a difficult thing for him to do, to come back to pick up that line. When he did come back, we were shooting on a stage directly opposite where he auditioned for Tony Stark. So his last line as Tony Stark was shot literally a couple hundred feet from his original audition that got him the role.”
The Avengers not re-assembling
Chris Evans also responded to rumors about a return to Marvel and said, “I’m very protective. It’s a very precious role to me, so it would have to be just right.”
Kevin Feige has confirmed something is in the works with Scarlett Johssanon, and Johansson also addressed a return to the MCU.
“Like a loophole?” replied Johansson when asked if there could be a resurgence with mention of the Multiverse. “I feel like that’s kind of the end, right? Like can you come back?” teased Johansson. “Could it be a vampire version of the character? Cause I’m here for that, right. Like a zombie version, maybe.”
So of the three, it seems only Scarlett Johansson will be back in the MCU. Somehow.
Regarding the other Avengers, Thor 5 is said to be in the works with Chris Hemsworth. Savage Hulk is said to be returning to the MCU with murmurings of a potential World War Hulk movie on the way, and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye seems to have been replaced by Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, who if lucky, might star in a Young Avengers Disney+ series.
