Despite MCU's Multiverse Mayhem, Marvel Won't Venture Into This Storyline

Summary

• This year has seen a plethora of Marvel releases.
• MCU fans wish Tony Stark would appear in future studio projects.
• Marvel officials have no plans to bring the character back, honoring the actor's wishes.

In terms of movies, 2023 can legitimately be called the year of Marvel, as the largest number of cinematic premieres were produced by the studio. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantimania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and The Marvels dominated this year's movie scene, along with two Marvel TV shows. In addition, news recently surfaced that the studio has more projects in the works, including Deadpool 3.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is arguably the largest existing franchise at this point, with complicated stories that are all inextricably linked. On the one hand, Marvel's movies have become more interesting and immersive. But on the other hand, the studio's projects seem to be a bunch of chaotic arcs that most people don't understand.

For example, Marvel had no problem resurrecting Loki multiple times, as well as half the characters in Avengers: Endgame. However, it seems that there is one storyline that the studio will never revisit – Tony Stark will not return to the MCU, despite fan anticipation and narrative possibilities.

Marvel Officials On Bringing Robert Downey Jr. Back

After his dramatic exit from the MCU in the aforementioned Avengers: Endgame, R. Downey Jr.'s Iron Man has been the ultimate fan-favorite character that audiences have been clamoring to see back in the franchise. Considering there would be no MCU without RDJ, this is not surprising. However, studio officials say that the actor is not interested in reprising his role, which is why they have no further plans to bring him back.

'We are going to keep that moment [Downey's exit] and not touch that moment again. We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way,' Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel, said in an interview.

Ultimately, the studio's filmmakers believe that it would be a disservice to Robert's work within the franchise to try to resurrect the character to please fans.

'We'd already said tearful goodbyes on the last day of shooting. Everybody had moved on emotionally. We promised him [R. Downey Jr.] it would be the last time we made him do it – ever,' Joe Russo, one of Avengers: Endgame directors, said of the actor's last foray into the MCU.

Certainly, it would be terrific to see Iron Man again in future Marvel installments. At the same time, we must honor the wishes of Robert Downey Jr., who gave us the fan-favorite character in the first place. Fortunately, since Endgame, the actor has had other projects in which to showcase his talents.

Source: Vanity Fair.