Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Mike Redmond | Film | July 24, 2024
Back in April, Robert Downey Jr. didn’t even try to downplay the increased chatter that Marvel is attempting to bring him back as Iron Man after the studio spent 2023 slamming into a wall. In fact, he all but confirmed it.
“Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige,” Downey told Esquire. “It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”
At the time, I noted that Joanna Robinson’s MCU book revealed that Downey really, really did not want to die in Avengers: Endgame. Tony Stark was the gravy train to eclipse all gravy trains, and Downey did not want to get off at the station. It took a whole lot of prodding to get him to die a hero’s death that is poised to mean jack-o-squat real quick.
With the promotional tour for Deadpool & Wolverine in full effect, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige couldn’t resist teasing the inevitable return of RDJ.
Here’s what he told DiscussingFilm about doing for Tony Stark what Marvel did for Wolverine, who also had an emotional on-screen death that was the perfect curtain call for the character that has now been cheapened:
That’s the key, right? How do you do it in a way that maintains what has come before, and in a great way? 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.
Not for nothing, Marvel is set to storm Comic-Con this weekend. Gee, I wonder what ace they have up their sleeve …
Look, I have been one of the most vocal defenders of this franchise and have routinely railed against the fart-sniffing elitism thrown its way by Film Twitter. I want these movies and shows to be fun. When they work, they work, and it’s a neat two hours of escapism to enjoy with my kids before returning to the drudgery of life.
That said, goddamn, the wheels have fallen off. Deadpool & Wolverine sure seems like a much-needed shot in the arm that will put some shine back on Marvel, but I’m going to be real: Captain America: Brave New World looks tepid as hell and symptomatic of what put Marvel in its current rut. Deadpool & Wolverine can make a bajillion dollars, but it will mean nothing if we’re right back to more of the same.
Can bringing back Robert Downey Jr. fix all that? No! If that’s the only move that Marvel has after five years, it is in some serious trouble. That is unfiltered creative bankruptcy through and through. Plus, the guy is pushing 60. There are only so many times you can go back to that well, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but America seems to really hate old dudes right now. We just knifed one in the back for sport, and he was the freaking president.
Let’s say Tony Stark comes back for a cameo, or whatever, then what? Suck the life out of Chris Evans next? Well, guess what. I left out part of the question from Feige’s DiscussingFilm interview. He was asked about bringing back both Downey and Evans. Yup.
I am the easiest lay for Marvel. I’ll probably end up getting behind whatever shenanigans they’re cooking for the next two Avengers movies. But if you can’t make it through a phase without panicking and bringing back old actors for cheap and easy thrills, that’s a rickety house of cards that isn’t going to last long. I’d think about finding a way to cap all of this off and then regroup for at least five years. Minimum.
