The Russo Brothers Weigh in on Whether or Not Robert Downey Jr. Will Return to the MCU
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to be one of the dominant forces in popular culture, there is no doubt that the franchise has stumbled since the release of Avengers: Endgame.
The seminal film in the MCU not only served as the culmination of the Infinity Wars saga, but it also saw Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man sacrifice himself to save the universe, robbing the franchise of one of its biggest stars.


Photo: Marvel
After a particularly difficult 2023 that saw both Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels struggle at the box office, many have suggested that Marvel could look to revive Iron Man and bring Downey back into the fold.
Downey Jr. Has Said He Would “Happily” Return
While Downey previously sounded like a man whose superhero days were behind him, in an interview with Esquire earlier this month, the actor said that he would “happily” return to the MCU if called upon.
“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,” Downey Jr. said.


Source: digitalspy.com
A possible Iron Man return would certainly give the MCU the shot of energy that it would need, but it would also undermine the emotional impact of Tony Stark’s sacrifice and the years of storytelling that culminated in Endgame.
The Russo Brothers Weigh In
At the Sands: International Film Festival, the Russo brothers, who directed Avengers: Endgame, were asked by Gamesradar+ about the possibility of Downey Jr. returning. They did not sound thrilled with the idea.
“I don’t know how they would do it. I don’t know what the road to that would be,” Anthony Russo said, chuckling.


Photo Credit: Getty Images
“I mean we closed that book so it would be up to them to figure out how to reopen it,” Joe added.
Overall, the Russo brother’s comments echo the sentiment of Kevin Feige, who, when asked last year, was adamant that Iron Man’s story had concluded.


Image: Disney
“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.”
Praise For Downey Jr.
While the Russo brothers do not sound sold on Downey Jr. returning to the MCU, the duo had nothing too good things to say about the actor.


Photo Credit: Marvel Studios
“His Oscar win was huge. It’s amazing to live vicariously through Robert, you know, that experience for him is so profound, because of the journey he’s had. I mean, it’s one of the great stories of redemption. And he’s such a lovely person, such a hard-working person. He’s a generational actor, so that level of recognition for him, I think, was validation of his redemption arc.”