The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown into a wildly powerful force in the entertainment industry over the last decade and change. But despite the various crossovers and highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies heading to theaters, it all began with the gamble of the first Iron Man movie. That 2008 blockbuster changed the industry forever, and also started Robert Downey Jr.’s professional comeback. And RDJ has nothing but great things to say about director Jon Favreau pushing him to play Iron Man in the MCU.
The first Iron Man movie was a huge financial risk thanks to its big budget and somewhat controversial star. In the end it was a wild success that kickstarted an entire shared universe and once again made RDJ an A-lister. The Avengers: Endgame actor recently spoke to Vanity Fair about his career, opened up about the perfect timing and alchemy that resulted in his collaboration with Favreau on Iron Man. In his words:
Jon Favreau, his film Zathura and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang came out on the same weekend and tanked. And I think we were both really hungry to try to reestablish ourselves as a formidable duo, albeit individually. Again, just like Attenborough, his endorsement of me to play that character, and then Kevin Feige having the wherewithal to say, ‘OK bit of a risk, let’s do it, we like risk.’ [It] wound up being you know, a life-changing 15 years.
That risk definitely paid off, as it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Tony Stark the way that Robert Downey Jr. did. He dripped charisma and humor, and those of us who watched the Marvel movies in order saw him carrying the entire cinematic universe’s emotional stakes during crossover moments like The Avengers.
As RDJ put it, he would go on to play Iron Man for over a decade, starring in a whopping nine movies in addition to a few cameos. His tenure as Tony Stark ended with Avengers: Endgame, which saw Iron Man sacrifice himself to defeat Thanos and his forces for good. But fans are still hoping he suits back up as Iron Man sometime in the future.
Jon Favreau would end up having a long career in the MCU. In addition to directing Iron Man 2, he’s got an ongoing role playing Happy Hogan in projects like the Spider-Man movies. Although given the twist ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s unclear if/when he’ll return to the big screen.
Most MCU movies including Iron Man are currently available to stream with a Disney+ subscription. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
