Robert Downey Jr. Almost DIDN’T Play Iron Man — Here’s Why

Warning: There are spoilers about some movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this post.

There are lots of iconic characters when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of those characters is Iron Man.

Iron Man is played by Robert Downey Jr., who played the role from 2008 to 2019 when Iron Man dies in Avengers: Endgame. But did you know that Robert Downey Jr. almost played a completely different Marvel character?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man and many other Marvel films, sat down with President Kevin Feige to reminisce about Iron Man’s 15th anniversary.

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The duo revealed that Robert Downey Jr. was first brought to their radar when the actor auditioned for the 2005 Fantastic Four film.

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It wasn’t revealed how far he made in the consideration process for that film, but he left enough of an impression with the “spark in him” that they brought him back in for Iron Man.

©Marvel

Favreau said that “once it was him, that’s when my life got a lot easier because he understood the voice of the character.” The film went on to make more than $585 million worldwide.

©Disney/Marvel

Feige also has reportedly told Robert Downey Jr. that they “wouldn’t have a studio if it wasn’t for him.” In other recent Marvel news, we recently got an announcement for the second season release date of a popular series. As always, stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney news!