Even in a universe where comic book logic abounds, and people come back from the dead all the time, it doesn't seem likely Robert Downey Jr. will ever don the Iron Man suit again. At least for a live-action production.
But, in the highly unlikely event that Marvel does give up on their Phase 4 plans, or at least call a major audible, Joe Rogan has an idea for how that could go down. He explained it on his Wednesday podcast while Downey was on there to promote Dolittle.
“Here’s what I think, they go through a few semi-lackluster Avengers movies without you,” Rogan began in jest. “There’s a moment where the world’s fate is at stake and they’ve realized they need a super genius. Then, they figure out how to restart that time machine. You step out of that machine and the entire crowd goes wild.”
That's probably all it would take, frankly.
However, when you consider that pre-Doolittle Downey hadn't played a role besides Iron Man in more than five years, it's not surprising a great actor like him would prefer to start diversifying his resume once again.
So, when asked about ever reprising the Tony Stark role, it's not at all shocking that he said he wants to do "other stuff." Though it does kind of sound like he'll leave the door open if someone can make an argument that's good enough.
“If I pick the jersey back up and put it on, wouldn’t you feel a little bit like, Aw, crap? … To me, starting up again is off the table. I feel like I’ve done all I could with that character," Downey said. "There would have to be a super compelling argument and a series of events that made it obvious. But the other thing is, I wanna do other stuff.”
It was also clear from his comments to Rogan that he was proud of the work RDJ's done with Marvel over the past decade-plus.
"It was all there in the universe to begin with, and that's why I think the Marvel comics have been so numinous to kids and grownups and people," he said, according to ComicBook.com. "There's this love for it because it speaks to the world but it also speaks to the democratic American projected dream, which is far more complicated than that (laughs), but there's an ideal there that's always been trying to express itself, and strangely, in some ways the best of it has been expressed in these little two-hour segments of entertainment."
Not that The Joe Rogan Experience is in any way desperate for views, but you can watch the full exchange below. For those looking to save time, the relevant comments as they pertain to this discussion start around 11:24:
