Robert Downey Jr. made his farewell in the MCU when Tony Stark died at the end of Avengers: Endgame. It was a remarkable moment for fans as it signaled the end of an era for the franchise since it was the last appearance of the character who started it all.
Despite the character's seemingly permanent passing, there have been rumors that Downey will return in the future, especially now that the franchise is in the Multiverse Saga where it's possible to bring back deceased characters.
So far, there is no confirmation that the actor will come back in the role but fans would definitely love to see him appear again in some capacity.
Now, it looks like that is more unlikely than ever as the head of Marvel Studios himself has shot down the possibility.
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Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU Return Ruled Out by Kevin Feige
In a recent profile about Downey in Vanity Fair, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige opened up about the actor's past involvement in the MCU.
He first discussed the initial hesitation to cast him as Tony Stark given his legal troubles in the past.
"It purely came down to the Marvel board being nervous at putting all of their chips in their future films on somebody who famously had those legal troubles in the past." Feige said.
"I wasn’t very good—and I’m still not great—at taking no for an answer. But I also don’t pound my chest to try to get my way. I try to figure out ways to make it as clear to other people why we should head in a direction. And that’s when the idea of a screen test came up."
As well know, Downey ended up getting the role, which he is now well-known for, after going through screen tests and a lot of convincing to the Marvel Entertainment executives.
However, when the actor's potential return to the franchise was discussed, Feige shot down the possibility as he iterated that they intend to make his death in Endgame permanent and not resurrect him at all.
"We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again. We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way," he said.
If we take the word that the Marvel Studios president said in his comments, fans should not expect Downey to make his return to the franchise despite the rumors that have been going around.
However, they can still bring back the character of Tony Stark through another variant whether he is played by another actor or even Downey again if he is willing to return.
There is also a likelihood that Downey just wants to move on from the MCU and focus on serious and prestige projects, especially since he is getting a lot of Oscar buzz at the moment for his acclaimed performance in Oppenheimer.
Either way, fans should lower their expectations for now regarding Downey's potential MCU return as it looks like that is nowhere near the possibility right now.
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