Robert Downey Jr. Misses Being In The Trenches With Kevin Feige

Long before the Avengers assembled together in the culmination of the greatest phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a multi-billion superhero franchise that has dominated pop culture discourse for decades, the Robert Downey Jr.-starring "Iron Man" kickstarted the studio's shared universe of films in 2008. Downey Jr. was initially perceived as a controversial choice for "Iron Man" — but the actor's past legal troubles didn't negatively influence director Jon Favreau, who fought tooth and nail to make it happen.

The film was released, Downey Jr.'s performance was commended, to say the least, and a franchise was born. The actor reprised his role in two sequels and has played Tony Stark/Iron Man in a total of 10 films while steadily being at the center of the MCU throughout. Downey Jr. has since been a part of many critically-acclaimed films, but the most loved films in his career spanning decades are the ones he participated in during his MCU career. Since his final role in "Avengers: Endgame," the actor has confessed there's one thing he truly misses about his time donning the uber-cool Iron Man suit: working with Kevin Feige.

Robert Downey Jr. misses the creative partnership he shared with Kevin Feige — who has been helming the MCU since 2007. In an interview with Deadline, the actor detailed the experience working with the Marvel Studios president and "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau, describing it as "a beautiful dream." Downey Jr. is also grateful to have worked with the Russo Brothers, who helmed "Avengers: Endgame" which marked the actor's final stint as Iron Man and who helped him "embrace" Tony Stark's exceptional, emotional journey.

"What I miss most? Being in the trenches with Kevin Feige throughout; the beginning, with Jon Favreau, it's like a beautiful dream now; the middle, with Shane Black on Iron Man 3, we'd just had Exton and shot it mostly in Wilmington N.C. It was idyllic and subversive. And The End, when I realized I'd made so many close friends in the MCU cast, and the Russo Brothers helping me embrace Tony's arc."

As Iron Man, Downey Jr. was the center of the MCU, as he was the superhero that often held the rest of the pack together. Stark's sacrifice in "Avengers: Endgame" will go down as the greatest end to a superhero journey — comparisons to his superhero arc are simply undebatable.

The actor will be next seen in Christopher Nolan's 2023 film "Oppenheimer," in which he plays American businessman and Atomic Energy Commission member Lewis Strauss. Downey Jr.'s co-stars include Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and Rami Malek among others. "Oppenheimer" is set to be released on July 21, 2023.