What Is Robert Downey Jr. Doing Now That Iron Man Is Dead?
For over 10 years, Robert Downey Jr. has played Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and along the way, he’s helped shape the character into the cultural phenomenon that he is today.
But of course, as almost every Marvel fan knows, at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Tony sacrificed himself to save the world from Thanos and his army. While many people, both in the MCU and in real life, have mourned Tony’s death, Downey’s career will continue. His latest movie was Dolittle, but it was a major flop and many of Downey’s fans hope he will make something better in the future.
Here’s a look at the handful of future projects that Robert Downey Jr. has been working on now that Iron Man is dead.
Robert Downey Jr. may return in a MCU prequel
While it’s unlikely that Marvel will revive Tony, that doesn’t stop Marvel from making a prequel that involves Iron Man in some way. This could very well be the case, according to Cinema Blend, as it was rumored that Downey may appear in a prequel movie in the MCU. That being said, even if this rumor was true, it would be unlikely for Marvel to go down this route very much.
Off the bat, Downey was easily the best-paid actor in the MCU, and having him in a movie will cost Marvel a lot of money. Furthermore, if Marvel does too many prequel movies or TV shows involving Tony, then that could cheapen his death in Endgame. That’s why if Tony does show up in a prequel, it may very well be the last time that he shows up in the MCU.
‘All-Star Weekend’ and another Sherlock Holmes movie
Rumors aside though, the one movie that Downey is guaranteed to have a role in is All-Star Weekend, which is sports comedy that’s directed by and stars Jamie Foxx. The movie is about the NBA All-Star Game and the hilarious situations that the main characters get themselves into.
That being said, according to CinemaBlend, Downey won’t have a major role in the movie as he only has a cameo in it. All-Star Weekend is set to premiere sometime in 2021.
While it’s guaranteed that Downey will have a small part in All-Star Weekend, it’s not guaranteed that Downey’s next Sherlock Holmes movie will come out anytime soon.
Like Cinema Blend wrote, Downey wants to go back to the Sherlock Holmes franchise that he starred in over 10 years ago, and the third movie in that franchise has a release date of December 22nd, 2021. However, the director of the movie said that the movie is currently “on the back-burner,” so that date may change.
A John Brinkley biopic and a new Pinocchio movie
Like CinemaBlend explained, John Brinkley was a notorious conman who swindled people by convincing them to use insane cures for their diseases. Eventually, Brinkley was exposed by Dr. Morris Fishbein, and as a result, Brinkley’s story had all the makings of a fun and interesting movie. That’s why, in 2017, director Richard Linklater and Downey announced that they were going to do a biopic about Brinkley.
There’s been very little news about this biopic ever since this announcement however, and currently, there’s not even a release date for it yet.
The other project that Downey may be working on is a new adaptation of Pinocchio. Disney announced this project years ago, according to CinemaBlend, and while Downey had always been attached to it, the director’s chair had changed hands multiple times.
Most recently, in January 2020, Robert Zemeckis signed on to direct this new Pinocchio movie. That being said, like that Brinkley biopic, there also isn’t a release date for this new Pinocchio movie just yet.
