Robert Downey Jr. said his goodbyes to Iron Man aka Tony Stark in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame when he sacrificed his life in order to save the world from Thanos. Despite the heroic ending to a heroic character, fans have been speculating about the return of RDJ since it’s been over two years since the fans last saw him as Iron Man.
Now, it looks like their speculations might be turning into a reality as there are rumors flying around, thanks to a reputable source, which mentions that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the screens of MCU in the upcoming movie, Avengers: Secret Wars. Ever since the rumor caught speed, fans believe that this supposed return could either be in the form of AI or simply a variant.
Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Secret Wars?
Thanks to Twitter-based scooper, @MyTimeToShineH, fans are once again beaming with hope to see Robert Downey Jr. return as Iron Man in the sixth Avengers film. The scoop stated that Downey will “for sure” be reprising his Iron Man role.
Fans were wondering how exactly this will come to fruition given the fact that the character died in Avengers: Endgame. Well, owing to the multiverse, the death of a character doesn’t seem to mean much anymore since they can be easily revived as a variant, should the Studios and the actors wish to do so. The theory fans most believe in is that Downey will return either as an AI or as a variant. According to them, the supposed reprisal could be as Superior Iron Man where Downey will play a villain, this time around.
To those saying “have you not seen endgame?” He’s dead.. have y’all not seen the Loki series or the last dr. Strange movie? Tony may be dead in our world but there could be a different version of him in a different universe.
— Douglas A Sanchez (@DougieDoug90) December 29, 2022
I have 2 theories, one he created an AI construct of himself, or two it Superior Iron Man and he is going to be a villain.
— BigBossDeku (@Big_Boss_Deku) December 28, 2022
So, a AI hologram Tony Stark? Interestin'. He could also be Riri's JARVIS
— Ratio Shack 🇺🇦🇷🇺🇦🇿🇦🇲🇭🇹 (@SoshulJustis) December 29, 2022
If he does… He will return as the AI Version of Tony Stark like in the comics. That is… if this source is even reputable and true.
— José J. López-Pérez (JJWesker10) (@JJWesker10) December 29, 2022
He’s either gonna come back to life or be a different version of him from the multiverse.
— 🎥The_Movie_Going_Gamer🎮 (@The_Movie_Goer) December 29, 2022
AI Tony for sure. He already exists. They show the hologram AI Tony at his Wake. He is basically Jarvis now. Probably make him a synthetic body.
— PatriotsDontCheat (@shanebutt10) December 29, 2022
A plausible theory of bringing back Tony Stark is to go back in time and bring a variant of him during the event of Avengers: Age of Ultron where he already started to have some idea about an impending cataclysmic event, and that only he can stop that from happening. That would mean that Tony Stark would have no knowledge of the events starting from Captain America: Civil War till his heroic demise in Avengers: Endgame. There is no doubt that this variant of Tony Stark would be of great use to the present Avengers to win the battle in Secret Wars. Although bringing him back seems like a good idea, it might backfire as the majority of the fans already think that his death in Avengers: Endgame was poetic and fitting and ended a decade-long build-up to his final story arc. The studio should make sure that if they are actually bringing him back it should serve a major purpose of the storyline and not just a cheap cameo for the sake of nostalgia and cheers.
Robert Downey Jr. Rumored to be in Another MCU Project
Apart from the possible role reprisal in Avengers: Secret Wars, the scoop also mentioned that there are discussions happening about adding Downey to the cast of Armor Wars. Armors Wars is the first solo MCU film for Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes aka War Machine. While the project was supposed to be a Disney+ series at first, it is now going to be released as a movie, giving Cheadle’s character the much-needed and long-awaited spotlight.
However, if RDJ does show up in Armor Wars there is a strong possibility that War Machine would no longer be the center of attention as fans would mainly be excited to see a cameo from their favorite Avenger. Only time will tell if the scoop has any credibility to it!
Avengers: Secret Wars is set to release on May 01, 2026
Source: Twitter
