Robert Downey Jr. would 'happily' reprise Iron Man for Marvel
MANILA, Philippines — Newly minted Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr. is not entirely closing the doors on returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as his iconic character Tony Stark and the hero Iron Man.
In an interview with Esquire, the actor was asked if he would ever go back to the MCU following his Best Supporting Actor win for his role in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer."
"Happily. It's too integral a part of my DNA," Downey answered. "That role chose me. And look, I always say, 'Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige.' It is a losing bet. He's the house. He will always win."
Feige, longtime head of Marvel Studios, previously ruled out a return for Downey's character as he was given the "perfect exit" in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame."
Elsewhere in the Esquire article, Downey's frequent Marvel co-star and now fellow Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow recounted moments Downey would throw out lines and just improvise.
Related: Robert Downey Jr wins Oscar for 'Oppenheimer,' 31 years after first nod
"There would be this process of [director] Jon Favreau and Robert and I going into Jon's trailer in the morning and Robert being like, 'I'm not f***ing saying these lines' and throwing them out. And then live improv-ing either in the trailer or on the set," Gwyneth said.
She explained that for something to feel alive for Downey, "It has to feel fresh, and he makes it fresh by making it feel like it was just invented," adding that many of Stark and her character Pepper Potts' famous lines were written just 10 minutes before shooting.
Downey portayed Stark in 10 MCU films, including an "Iron Man" trilogy and four "Avengers" movies.
Following his "Oppenheimer" win, he will next be seen in the HBO series "The Sympathizer" where he is also an executive producer with his wife of 18 years Susan.
The show created by Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name about a Vietnamese captain forced to flee to the United States near the end of the Vietnam War where he spies on South Vietnamese refugees and reports back to the Viet Cong.
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