Did you know we almost saw Robert Downey Jr. as a very different but equally iconic Marvel character? During a recent 15-year celebration of 2008’s Iron Man, producer Kevin Feige, and filmmaker Jon Favreau discussed the legacy that film created and gave fans insight into a very different MCU.
Feige goes on to sing the praises of RDJ and Favreau, noting how they played a massive part in the early MCU days: “That tone you and Robert discovered on that movie became the template for what the MCU became. On later movies […] 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.”
This leads Favreau to walk down memory lane and return to a time before Downey Jr. was cast as Iron Man. At the time, producer Avi Arad cast Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in Fox’s 2005 film Fantastic Four. The director notes that he picked up on the actor’s spark and how he wanted him for a project.
SEE ALSO: Nicolas Cage was originally cast as Doctor Doom in 2005’s Fantastic Four
Favreau recalls: “I remember that Robert had come in for a general on it, and I remember you had all met with him 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, and I remember sitting down with the guy, and I was like, ‘Geez, he’s got that spark in him, in his eye, and he’s ready.”
That would never pan out; the role would go to Nip/Tuck‘s Julian McMahon, and Robert Downey Jr. would play Iron Man in under five years. As we all know, RDJ would spend the next several years building the Marvel Cinematic Universe as its main figurehead before bowing out in Avengers: Endgame.
We’ll next see Robert Downey Jr. in this year’s Oppenheimer, the latest film from Christopher Nolan. At the time of writing, there’s no word if he’ll return to the MCU again.
SEE ALSO: Rumored Fantastic Four cast includes Adam Driver, Margot Robbie, and Daveed Diggs
As for Doctor Doom, fans are still waiting for the definitive version of the character. We’ll see who Kevin Feige casts in the role as we near confirmation on Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four line-up.
You can find the entire conversation between Feige and Favreau below…
