In many Marvel fans’ hearts, Robert Downey Jr. will forever be Iron Man. Avengers: Infinity War director Joe Russo seems to agree… for now.
Sure, there may be three modern Spider-Mans, two Human Torches, and two Quicksilvers, but for now, there’s only one Iron Man. Though it looks likes Robert Downey Jr. could be out as the iron hero come Avengers 4, even the Avengers: Infinity War directors couldn’t help but agree that the RDJ is irreplaceable.
In an interview with the HinduStan Times, director Joe Russo expressed his love for Downey’s portrayal as Tony Stark.
“There is nobody who can take over Iron Man from Robert,” Russo said. “I don’t think the audience would accept that. He never mentioned to us about leaving Iron Man, but it will happen at some point of time.”
His remarks about the fans are undoubtedly correct, and Downey, as Mark Ruffalo put it, is pretty much the godfather of the MCU at this point. Plus, he’s become so tied to the role for the last 10 years that it’s almost impossible to separate him from the actual Tony Stark. (Are they even different people at this point?) It’d be the same as trying to take the role of Princess Leia from Carrie Fisher, which is just ridiculous.
Russo continued: “He can’t play the character forever. I am sure there are lots other things he wants to do in his career. But he loves playing the character, I know that, and we love working together. We will see where it goes from here.”
And so, it is a tough pill to swallow that perhaps one day, there will be an Iron Man reboot. On that day, a new actor would be cast to play the newly iconic role. But new actor or not, Robert Downey Jr. will forever be remembered as Iron Man mainly because he helped to bring the once little-known character to popularity.
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Plus if Downey needs time to work on new projects, we’re all the more excited. That just means more chances to see him in theaters. (Sherlock Holmes 3, anyone?)