Getting the pat on the back as the “greatest casting decision ever” from Christopher Nolan is not a small feat. But back in the late 2000s, when Marvel Studios was looking for a face for their Iron Man, the decision to cast Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t seen as the best idea. The studio had a very different actor in mind but it was the resilience of the then-Marvel President, David Maisel, that when the 2008 Iron Man came out, Robert Downey Jr. played the genius billionaire.
The movie not only revived the career of the “addict” RDJ but also laid down the groundwork for the multibillion-dollar franchise that the MCU is today. Had the fate played out in any other way, with the Star Wars actor Timothy Olyphant playing the role, there’s no telling whether the outcome would have been the same.
Ex-Marvel President fought for the casting of Robert Downey Jr.
Robertt Downey Jr., before 2008, wasn’t the same person that we know today. He had a few run-ins with the law due to his struggles with drug addiction. So, when a studio that is just starting out and has big plans like Marvel did, there sure was some struggle to get the executives to agree to cast someone with a troubled and controversial past. But the then-President, David Maisel had his mind set. He knew that the Sherlock Holmes actor was the best choice for the role.
Maisel revealed in an interview with The New Yorker,
“My board thought I was crazy to put the future of the company in the hands of an addict. I helped them understand how great he was for the role. We all had confidence that he was clean and would stay clean.”
And it all did turn out for the best. Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man soon became a fan favorite and won hearts. The movie, Iron Man, surpassed the studio’s expectations making $585 million at the box office, with a budget of approximately $130-140 million dollars. In 2022, the movie was selected to be preserved at the National Film Registry as a film that is “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Marvel Studios wanted Timothy Olyphant as Iron Man
Marvel Cinematic Universe, set up by Marvel Studios, today is a multi-billion-dollar franchise, with movies and series, under its banner, released every year. But when the studio was starting out, it did not know what the future held for them. So, when they decided to let the future of their franchise depend on the reception of Iron Man, they surely wanted an actor that was a known face.
In comes Timothy Olyphant, the actor, back then, was the lead of HBO’s Deadwood, and had a huge role in making it one of the best-written shows of all time. Comparing his gleaming resume to the Oppenheimer star, the execs surely wanted the former on their side. But later, Maisel managed to convince the studio to choose the latter. Kevin Feige, in an interview too called it “probably one of the greatest decisions in the history of Hollywood.”
Well, Robert Downey Jr. beating him to the role of Iron Man did not hurt Olyphant in any way as the actor went on to build a strong career for himself too. He is also now a part of another Disney franchise, playing the role of Cobb Vanth in the Star Wars series, The Book of Boba Fett.
Though RDJ took his final bow as Iron Man in 2019, Avengers: Endgame, you can still watch the movie on Disney+.
Source: The New Yorker
