Robert Downey Jr. Would Return To The MCU For One Very Understandable Reason

Any fan of Marvel Comics will be able to tell you that death is, at worst, a temporary inconvenience. No Marvel superhero stays dead for too long, resurrected by cloning technology, psychic projections, visits from parallel universes, or mere unexpected survival. Marvel Comics are identical to soap operas, in that the writers have to contrive increasingly wild ways to keep their characters' stories going, even if they die. 

When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that same rule seems to apply. There have indeed been a few notable deaths throughout the 16-year-old, 30-odd-film series, but many of them have been magically undone. In "Avengers: Endgame," the same wish-granting widget that wiped out half of the universe's population was employed to resurrect them. After a stunt like that mortality becomes something of a joke. Only a few deaths have felt properly permanent (at least so far) in the annals of the MCU, one of them being the death of Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) at the end of "Endgame." Using the wish-granting widget — the Infinity Gauntlet — Tony's final act on Earth was to snap his fingers and slay thousands of enemy combatants on the battlefield. The Gauntlet, however, was too powerful for him to handle and he died in the process of using it. 

After that, one can safely assume Iron Man will remain absent in all MCU films moving forward. Or perhaps not. The Oscar-winning Downey recently sat down with Esquire and explained that he would naturally return to play Iron Man again, should Marvel's head honcho, Kevin Feige, give him a call. 

Robert Downey, Jr. played Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in ten feature films, counting a cameo in the 2008 film "The Incredible Hulk." Although he never admitted out loud that he was tired of playing the part, one sometimes got the sense in interviews that the actor wanted to move on. Eventually, though, Downey seems to have come to peace with his association with Tony Stark and now considers the role to be a permanent part of his career. When asked if he would ever come back to play Tony Stark, the actor replied: 

"Happily. It's too integral a part of my DNA. That role chose me. And look, I always say, Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He's the house. He will always win." 

Feige has gone on record to say that Iron Man is indeed dead, and that there is no plan to magically resurrect him. Feige felt that his death in "Avengers: Endgame" was handled with portent; recall that the film featured a very long funeral sequence for the character. A hasty resurrection, Feige feels, would cheapen that moment in retrospect. 

But then, there have been rumors that both Downey and Captain America actor Chris Evans will return for a future installment of the MCU, as the films made since "Endgame" haven't been as successful (or at least as well-received) as previous MCU movies. Feige may turn back to fan favorites out of desperation, or at least rope them in through multiverse shenanigans. It's also worth noting that the superhero trend is certainly on the downward slide, so Downey may return for what is, essentially, a victory lap. 

Time will tell.