Before Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. had to play a Marvel villain!

Before Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. had to play a Marvel villain!

Robert Downey Jr. could have been the supervillain of the Marvel Universe! Long before he was cast as the unforgettable Tony Stark that marked a generation of audiences, the actor was considered for a far more unsympathetic role.

On the occasion of Iron Man’s 15th anniversary, its director Jon Favreau reminded producer Kevin Feige of the information on the microphone. THR :

I remember you met before for the role of Dr. Doom or some other project. I think it might have been for the Fantastic Four, so everyone knew who he was.

Indeed, director Tim Story and Marvel Entertainment released The Fantastic Four in 2005, starring Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd and Chris Evans, and featuring Dr. Doom as the villain played by Julian McMahon. And it looks like “RDJ” almost stole his spot.

If Downey Jr. had been cast as a villain in Fantastic Four, not only would he never have been Tony Stark, but we would have had a movie starring him alongside Chris Evans, which happened years later in The Avengers and Captain America. : Civil war!

Still, according to Favreau, the first Iron Man was difficult to put together, but once Robert Downey Jr. was hired, other actors were happy to join the project, which hadn’t been the case before: “Because then it got kind of interesting.”

End of story, everyone knows: the first Iron Man grossed $585 million worldwide, or $824.7 million today, which is a tidy sum, considering the film cost only $140. There will be Iron Man 2. Do even better and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is officially a blockbuster franchise.

As for the Fantastic Four, after the chaos of filming the 2015 version, the superheroes will soon be back with a new feature film in the works, which is only now in the early stages (negotiations to find good actors). Matt Shakman (WandaVision), director of the upcoming film, is busy directing the Godzilla TV series.

The Marvel feature film already has a release date of February 12, 2025 in France and the 14th, Valentine’s Day, in the United States. From there, imagining the movie angle celebrating Sue Storm and Reed Richards meeting is just one step away!

Source: Allocine

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