Robert Downey Jr. was an amazing co-star to actor Ty Simpkins in Iron Man 3 when he brought him 50 mini pizzas. According to the Harley Keener actor, Downey Jr. tried to bond with him while filming the Iron Man threequel. His statements showed how the Tony Stark star was extremely lovable and humble to his co-star and agreed to spend a whole day with him.
Ty Simpkins has been a notable young star who has starred alongside some of the biggest names like Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Colin Farrell, Robert Downey Jr., and many others. The actor, who was 11 back then, played the role of Harley Keener in the movie who assisted Tony Stark when he was stranded in Rose Hill, Tennessee.
How did Robert Downey Jr. bond with Ty Simpkins?
With the release of MCU: THE REIGN OF MARVEL STUDIOS, there have been many unheard details about the MCU movies. It was revealed that during the filming of Iron Man 3, Robert Downey Jr. approached Ty Simpkins himself and asked to spend a day with him-
“Robert reached out. He was like, ‘Hey man, let’s hang out for a day so we can get to know each other more. And we can go over some of the stuff that we’re going to be working on. Do you like pizza?'”
Downey Jr. also took Simpkins to his rental beachfront house and impressed his co-star with 50 mini-pizzas. According to the Insidious actor, the Avengers actor bought so many pizzas because he was unsure of Simpkins’ favorites- “I didn’t know what kind you like.” In an interview with Yahoo!, Simpkins also revealed that Robert Downey Jr. made him laugh the most on set.
Even after portraying such a memorable character and sharing such chemistry, this duo was never spotted again on the screen in the entire MCU. Although Harley Keener appeared once again in the sad funeral scene of Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, the fans wanted much more from him.
Will Harley Keener be seen again in the MCU?
It can’t be denied that the absence of Harley Keener was a major loss for Marvel Studios who could have shown the iconic duo more. A cameo presence in the funeral scene, so long after the events of Iron Man 3 was weird and didn’t do justice to the character.
Ty Simpkins has also taken to several interviews to show his interest in returning to the role. Speaking to IGN in a 2019 interview, he said he would have been happy to star as Iron Lad in the future- “Yes, 100%. I would love that!”
Presently, with the story of Kang the Conqueror playing out as the new Big Baddie of the MCU, the appearance of Iron Lad can be a good way to bring back Harley Keener. However, there were also some reports that Marvel might bring Doctor Doom to replace Kang the Conqueror due to the ongoing controversies with Jonathan Majors.
The Iron Man movies can be streamed on Disney+.
