Roberty Downey Jr. Nearly Played An Infamous Marvel Villain

Iron Man used to be a second-string superhero at best. If anything, I’m being generous. Folks who read comic books knew who Tony Stark was, but he was far from a household name. That has changed significantly. The hero is now known throughout the world. If there is Marvel merch, Stark is often front and center. This all started with his titular movie, released in 2008. It rocketed the character to international recognition and intertwined him forever with Robert Downey Jr.

Downey Jr. had a promising career in his early years. The red-hot up-and-comer had big roles in huge movies. He was nominated for an Oscar. Everything was coming up roses for Downey Jr. until drugs and alcohol almost ruined his life. The actor had a very public bout with addiction, leading many to think that his time was short. Luckily, Downey Jr. has been sober since 2003. He began a comeback in Hollywood that may go down as one of the most successful ever and Iron Man was a huge part of it.

2008 was a big year for movies, but especially for RDJ. He played a supporting role in the hit comedy film Tropic Thunder. The performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars in what can easily be described as a stacked year. He also appeared in Iron Man (and, briefly, in The Incredible Hulk), giving the world their first taste of Tony Stark. However, he almost gave the world a different Marvel character first.

Director Jon Favreau recently spoke for a 15th Anniversary retrospective of the film. We have Favreau to thank for Downey Jr.’s casting and according to the director, ole RDJ had already almost dipped his toe in the Marvel pool. “I remember you had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project,” Favreau explained to Marvel Big Wig Kevin Feige. “I think he had come through on maybe Fantastic Four, so everybody sort of knew who he was.”

The role of Doctor Doom in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie ultimately went to Julian McMahon. It also stars a future MCU star, Chris Evans. There is a chance that Downey Jr. could have played both Doom and Iron Man, but that is not likely. While Evans made the jump, it was several years later. Instead, we got RDJ as Tony Stark. As Favreau puts it, he was “the puzzle piece that made it all work. I remember sitting down with the guy, and I was like, ‘He’s got that spark in him, in his eye, and he’s ready.’ That’s when we were in your office, and we were pointing to his headshot, saying, ‘We got to try to figure this out.’”

They did figure it out. 2008 saw the release of Iron Man and a little-known film called The Dark Knight. The movie business was changed forever, for better and for worse.