Stan Lee Once Gave His Seal Of Approval To Marvel For Getting Robert Downey Jr As Iron Man(Photo Credit – Instagram)
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The mastermind behind Marvel Comics, the late Stan Lee, once gave a shoutout to the Marvel Studios casting agents for roping in Robert Downey Jr. for the iconic role of Iron Man. He also had similar feelings about Chris Evans’ casting as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
RDJ’s Iron Man laid the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is widely appreciated and loved for playing “the genius, playboy, philanthropist” Avenger. While Stan Lee passed away in November 2018, RDJ said goodbye to Iron Man in 2019 with Avengers: Endgame.
The first Iron Man movie came out in 2008, and for the unversed, the studio was not against casting Downey in the role due to his controversial past. Thankfully, RDJ finally got the role, and the rest is history. Even Lee himself once appreciated Marvel Studios for casting RDJ in the iconic role.
What Did Stan Lee Once Say About Robert Downey Jr’s Casting As Iron Man?
According to ComicBook‘s 2017 report, Stan Lee once attended the Rhode Island Comic Con where he shared his take on Robert Downey Jr’s work as Iron Man. Lee said, “That man was born to be Iron Man, you know? He’d be on the top of the list.” He continued, “But, I have to say: whoever does the casting for Marvel is a genius. For instance, I can’t picture anyone being better than Thor. Captain America? You couldn’t beat him.”
Lee then shared a story about Robert Downey Jr., saying, “I think of all of them when Robert Downey Jr. played Stark; he was just great,” and then recalled, “I’ll tell you something about him. The other day, I walked up to him the other day and said, ‘You know, everyone calls you Robert because your name is Robert. Do they ever call you Bob?’ He said, ‘Oh, I don’t care. They [can] call me Bob or Rob or Bobby or Boo-Boo.”
Is Robert Downey Jr. Returning To The MCU?
After playing Iron Man for nearly a decade, RDJ bid goodbye to the role in 2019. However, in perhaps the biggest twist ever, the A-lister confirmed his return to the MCU, albeit in a different role. Downey Jr. is set to play the role of Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom is MCU’s next big project, Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled to be released on December 18, 2026. It is being considered one of the most-anticipated MCU projects since Endgame.
