Although Captain America: Civil War chiefly focused on Steve Rogers and both his relationship with Bucky Barnes and disapproval of the Sokovia Accords, Tony Stark arguably received just as much character development as the Star-Spangled Avenger in it. The first time we see him in the 2016 feature, he’s showing off his B.A.R.F. technology to MIT students by depicting the last time he saw his mother and father before they were killed by The Winter Soldier (which had been teased in the prior Captain America movie). While Slattery had previously appeared as Howard Stark in Iron Man 2 and Ant-Man, and later reprised the role in Avengers: Endgame, this marked Succession actress Hope Davis’ only outing as Maria Stark. However, it turns out she was supposed to “reappear” in the MCU, and now we’re wanting to know which one.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Hope Davis about her work on Perry Mason Season 2, in which she plays Camilla Nygaard, a powerful businesswoman. Towards the end of our conversation though, I brought up Davis’ role in Captain America: Civil War (which Disney+ subscribers can easily stream as they go through the Marvel movies in order), wondering if any opportunities had ever come her way to play Maria Stark again, whether it be in a flashback or another simulation-like scene. She answered:
She has not reappeared, and when I did it, they said she would reappear. So I don’t know what happened. That did not come my way again… I do enjoy sometimes saying, ‘I’m Iron Man’s mother.’ I do enjoy saying that once in a while.
It’s curious that Davis was told she would be brought back to the MCU at some point, yet nothing ever came of it. So which movie could we have seen Maria Stark in for a second time? Well, after Captain America: Civil War’s release (three years after the Iron Man film series concluded), Robert Downey Jr. reprised Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Given what went down in those first two movies, it seems unlikely that Maria would have fit into those narratives, leaving Endgame as the most likely option, with one specific portion of the movie coming to mind.
After the 2012 Loki escaped with the Space Stone, Tony and Steve extended the Time Heist to travel back to 1970 and retrieve the version of the Infinity Stone from Camp Lehigh. While there, Tony encountered his father and had a meaningful conversation with him, talking about fatherhood at a time when Howard was shortly about to welcome the infant Tony into the world. It’s possible there was an earlier version of the movie that looped in Hope Davis to play a pregnant Maria, but for whatever reason, that plot thread was scrapped. While seeing Tony have one last moment with his father was one of Endgame’s most heartbreaking scenes, it surely would have been even more emotional had his mother been present.
Of course, with Tony Stark dying in Avengers: Endgame (which had to happen), the chances of Davis playing Maria again are pretty slim, though not necessarily impossible. With the MCU continuing to explore the multiverse, should the day come that Robert Downey Jr. plays an alternate version of Tony, maybe that would allow for an alternate Maria to appear too. Regardless, as the actress mentioned, at least she can continue bragging about having played Iron Man’s mother, an accomplishment no one else can claim when it comes to live-action performances.
Keep visiting CinemaBlend for the latest news about upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows. If you’re interested in watching Hope Davis in either Perry Mason or Succession, those can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription.
