Marvel Studios Boss Teases Whether Robert Downey Jr. Could Return as Iron Man: ‘It Can Be Done’

The door isn’t fully closed on Robert Downey Jr. returning as Iron Man.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently gave an optimistic update on whether we might see Iron Man or Chris Evans’ Captain America again in the future despite their respective farewells in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

Marvel’s latest movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, seemingly resurrects Hugh Jackman’s clawed crusader, Wolverine, who died in the events of 2017’s Logan. Jackman appears to be playing a different variant of Wolverine in this movie thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s continued exploration of the multiverse (a collection of alternate realities and dimensions).

With that in mind, Feige told Discussing Film in an interview published on Tuesday, July 23, that anything is possible in the MCU.

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“That’s the key, right? How do you do it in a way that maintains what has come before, and in a great way?” Feige responded to whether Iron Man and Captain America could make similar returns. “And we’ve been spending, you know, the last two-plus years figuring that out for Wolverine. So, what’s to come? We’ll see. We’re just proud that we, I think, have figured it out for Wolverine.”

“I think Hugh’s appearance and starring role in [Deadpool & Wolverine] is a great sign that it can be done — if great care is taken,” Feige added.

For his part, Downey, 59, has said he’d “happily” return to the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man in the MCU. “It’s too integral a part of my DNA,” he told Esquire magazine in April. “That role chose me.”

Downey went on to praise Feige, the mastermind behind the MCU’s connected superhero movies that have enthralled fans for over a decade.

“And look, I always say, ‘Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige.’ It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win,” said the Oscar winner.

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Feige, however, has previously made it clear that bringing Tony Stark back to life — and unraveling the emotional impact of the character’s death — isn’t the plan right now.

“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige told Vanity Fair in December 2023. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”