Robert Downey Jr. Almost Had A Major Iron Man Cameo In Deadpool & Wolverine

The Marvel Cinematic Universe almost had Robert Downey Jr. reprising the role of Iron Man in Deadpool & Wolverine. After a long wait to see the duo become part of the MCU, the ending to Deadpool & Wolverine has properly made Wade Wilson part of the Avengers-based franchise, along with Hugh Jackman’s Logan. However, while there were plenty of references, Easter eggs, and cameos in the Phase 5 installment, there were also a number of surprises that Deadpool & Wolverine couldn’t work in.

In a new interview with IndieWire, screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, who wrote the two first films, were asked if they had initially tried to have Robert Downey Jr. back as Tony Stark in the scene with Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan as part of the long list of cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine. It turns out that the MCU audience was close to having the beloved actor back in Deadpool & Wolverine, as the writing duo revealed the following:

Paul Wernick: We had wanted him to do a cameo. We had written that scene [to start] with Happy and Downey.

Rhett Reese: Ryan Reynolds read the scene with both of them, so in the hopes we could get Downey. But he also wanted Favreau, because they’re a great combo, and they were all in the scene together.

Wernick: Behind the scenes, we didn’t know about the Doctor Doom. And there’s no way he was going to do both. And then we said, “Oh, Downey doesn’t say ‘no’ to Ryan Reynolds, does he? No one says no to Ryan Reynolds.” And Ryan gave him the hard press. We wrote scenes, and Downey read the scenes, but what we didn’t know behind the scenes was this Doctor Doom thing.

Why It Is Good That RDJ Wasn’t In Deadpool & Wolverine

As Reese reveals that Downey Jr.’s scene would have featured Tony “rejected Wade. He just said he wasn’t a team player or whatever and questioned his team-player abilities,” it’s actually a good thing that he didn’t get a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. To begin with, it was already powerful to have Favreau’s character be the one to ground Wade a bit in their scene as Deadpool attempted to join the Avengers. Happy is also more generally characterized as an outwardly sensitive and caring figure compared to Tony, which is why it was perfect to have Favreau go solo with Reynolds’ Deadpool.

Then there is obviously the matter of Doctor Doom, as Downey Jr. will be returning to the MCU timeline as Victor von Doom. If he had shown up in Deadpool & Wolverine as Iron Man prior to his Doctor Doom debut, it would have lessened the impact of his Phase 6 arrival, which is bound to shake up a lot of emotions for various characters in the franchise. Having Phase 6 be the time where fans will meet Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom for the first time will feel more compelling without it coming right off a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Similarly, with the impact of Iron Man’s death still so potent in the franchise, it stands to reason that bringing him back just to reject Deadpool from the Avengers may have felt somewhat jarring. Similarly, in the end, the amount of Easter eggs and references in Deadpool & Wolverine were already pretty packed, and the movie couldn’t have risked including more without overcrowding the story. Despite not being in Deadpool & Wolverine, it will be exciting to see Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in 2026.

Deadpool & Wolverine

A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Director

Shawn Levy

Release Date

July 26, 2024

Studio(s)

Marvel , Maximum Effort

Cast

Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , Emma Corrin , Morena Baccarin , Rob Delaney , Leslie Uggams , Karan Soni , Matthew Macfadyen , Brianna Hildebrand , Shioli Kutsuna , Stefan Kapicic , Lewis Tan , Randal Reeder , Jennifer Garner , Aaron Stanford , Billy Clements , Ollie Palmer , Chris Hemsworth , Rob McElhenney

Runtime

127 Minutes

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Source: IndieWire