Robert Downey Jr. confirms he’s “all done” with the MCU

If you were hoping Robert Downey Jr. might appear as Iron Man again in the MCU down the line, sorry: He’s confirmed his obligations are finished.

It may be hard for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to accept, but it sounds like Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) is truly done with the franchise. He’s said as much previously, but that didn’t stop longtime fans from speculating about how he could make a cameo somewhere down the line — or even return in some capacity for an Ironheart series that would see him passing the mantle of Iron Man to another. We can dream, can’t we?

No, we cannot. Speaking on the SmartLess podcast, he told hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett that his obligations to the MCU are at an end. “That’s all done.”

There’s a finality to that statement that dashes the hopes of Marvel fans hoping to see RDJ’s Iron Man play a role in the MCU going forward, whether as the result of AI technology, time travel, or some other twist. Comicbook.com does point out, however, that RDJ’s words don’t completely rule out another appearance. Just because the actor won’t be filming anything new doesn’t mean Marvel can’t dig up some older footage to use in future films, namely Black Widow.

And there have been rumors that Black Widow, which is set before the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, could have a scene where Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark interact with one another. It’s possible that the film will use old, deleted footage from previous movies to make this happen. We’ll see for sure Black Widow finally comes out on on November 6.

Either way, it looks like RDJ is really and truly finished with Iron Man. We’re sad to see him go, but this does leave an opening for new characters to redefine the franchise in the future.

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