Robert Downey Jr. Once Named the Marvel Characters He’d Play Other Than Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. became synonymous with the superhero Iron man after spending a decade playing the Marvel hero. But there were other familiar Marvel heroes he wouldn’t have minded experimenting with at one point.
Robert Downey Jr. wondered what it’d be like to play these two superheroes
When Downey Jr. was offered the chance to play Iron Man, the actor didn’t take the opportunity lightly. At the time, Downey Jr. was on the cusp of a resurgence after several controversies temporarily sidelined his career. The 2000s saw Downey Jr. slowly climbing back to the top, testing Hollywood waters with movies like The Shaggy Dog and Zodiac.
In a resurfaced interview with Entertainment Weekly, Downey Jr. actually expected the crime thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to mark his big comeback. Although the movie enjoyed good reviews from critics, it didn’t meet expectations at the box office.
”It was going to be my coming-out party, my emergence into 21st-century cinema,” Downey Jr. said. “When it tanked, I was heartbroken.”
But it was noted that his performance in Kiss Kiss garnered the attention of Iron Man director Jon Favreau. Favreau would allow Downey Jr. to screen test for the role, which he spent weeks obsessively preparing for. The role gave Downey Jr.’s career the rebound it was looking for, the benefits of which he continues to enjoy to this day.
As much as he wanted to play Iron Man, there were two other Marvel characters that Downey Jr. also had interest in playing. And both of them couldn’t have been any more different from Tony Stark.
“I can’t think of any red-blooded American boy that didn’t imagine themselves as Spider-Man growing up. However, looking back on it now – also because I’m just such a Jeremy Renner fan, and he made it so cool, particularly when he turns into Ronin – I would say Hawkeye would be my go-to,” Downey. Jr told BBC back in 2020.
Robert Downey Jr. was cast as this upcoming MCU character years before he played Iron Man
Very recently, it was announced that Downey Jr. will be playing Fantastic Four villain Dr. Doom in an upcoming Marvel film. This has led many fans to wonder if he’s playing another more sinister version of Tony Stark. Or if perhaps he’s simply being cast as another character altogether without any previous ties to his past role.
At any rate, Downey Jr. playing the Marvel supervillain is also a bit of a full circle moment for the actor. Film producer Kevin Feige did an interview with Jon Favreau for Marvel Entertainment where they discussed their experiences in the MCU and beyond. Here, the two offered an interesting tidbit about how Downey Jr. was initially approached to play Dr. Doom in 2005’s Fantastic Four.
“I remember that Robert had come in for a general on it – and I remember you had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project,” Favreau recalled to Feige. “I think he had come through like maybe Fantastic Four? So everybody sort of knew who he was, and I remember sitting down with the guy, and I was like ‘Geez he’s just got it – he’s got that spark in him, in his eye and he’s ready.’ And that’s when we were in your office [Kevin] and we were pointing to his headshot and saying, ‘We gotta try to figure this out.’”
Dr. Doom would eventually go to Nip/Tuck alum Julian McMahon. But it seems in hindsight that Downey Jr.’s turn as Dr. Doom was just postponed until the right moment.
