Jon Favreau says Robert Downey Jr. was in talks to play another Marvel character

Robert Downey Jr. won over fans from around the world when he took on the character of Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man. But now it has been revealed that the actor was in talks to appear in another Marvel movie altogether, which was an entirely different Marvel character. (Also read: ‘I am Iron Man,’ Marvel Studios reveal stunning details of Downey Jr casting | Watch)

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. gained global recognition for starring as Tony Stark/Iron Man in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Iron Man (2008) and up till Avengers: Endgame (2019). Now, leading up to the 15th anniversary of the film that kickstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe, director Jon Favreau has revealed that the actor was interested in playing a different character altogether.

How he almost took another part

In a conversation with Marvel’s Kevin Feige, which is uploaded in Marvel’s YouTube channel, Jon Favreau said, “I remember you had all met with [Downey] already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project. I think he had come through on maybe Fantastic Four, so everybody sort of knew who he was.” Victor Von Doom was finally taken up by actor Julian McMahon for the 2005 film.

Favreau further said of casting Robert as Iron Man, “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.’ Once it was him, that’s when my life got a lot easier because he understood. He understood the voice of the character. And then one by one, people were just signing on board because now it became something interesting.”

Responding to this, Kevin Feige said, “I remember on later movies – we’ll talk about them on the 15th anniversary of those – there were dark days. And I would say to Robert, ‘We wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you.’ Meaning, we wouldn’t have a studio if it wasn’t for him.”