RDJ Rumored to Return As Iron Man in the MCU's Secret Wars
"Secret Wars yes, Kang Dynasty no" — these six words were enough to set the Internet on fire.
An anonymous insider who runs the Twitter account MyTimeToShineHello confirmed on October 17th that even if Tony Stark is gone for good we will see our beloved Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr at least once again in the Avengers: Secret Wars. The movie is scheduled to be out in 2026, so the fans have plenty of time to gather rumors and build hope.
The departure of Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame was by far the most climactic moment in the whole Avengers series. It was well prepared by the plot, all the necessary goodbyes were said, the parting line was legendary. We even had the funeral to properly mourn the most beloved MCU character ever, and assure the fans that he is gone for good. It is time to go on, assemble the young Avengers, fight the Kang Dynasty, and get used to the new world order.
But there is obviously a void in the MCU for the role of the charismatic tech-savvy leader of the superheroes' squad. Who would build them armor, invent gadgets, buy expensive stuff and build fancy towers? In the years Tiny Stark existed in the MCU, and he was there way before anyone else he has become a god-like figure to all the other Avengers. Now they are slowly learning to be alone in the new godless world. But is it possible to win a big war against a villain like Kang without Iron Man leading the troops?
It looks like Iron Man has to appear, at least for a few minutes, at least to assemble the Avengers and send them off to war. One can just hope that he won't be brought in just to die brutally in the Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Maddness style. And even if the charismatic superhero will return it still remains to be seen if he will be played by Downey, who seemed to have said his farewells to the superhero costume. When recently asked on Joe Rogan's podcast about the possibility of becoming Tony Stark once again, RDJ answered:
"To me, starting up again is off the table. I feel like I've done all I could with that character."
As Secret Wars will most likely take place in the alternative universe — or universes — everyone can be an Iron Man there. Why not bring Tom Cruise's Iron Man, whose cameo was widely expected in the Multiverse of Madness?
The Reddit community MarvelStudioSpoilers suggests that if RDJ is indeed set to return, he should return along Chris Evans ' Captain America as a villainous version of himself. Or if nothing else, as a Holy Trinity of Marvel: with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Toby Macguire as Spiderman.