Steve Rogers’s time as Captain America is well and truly over. His successor, Sam Wilson, picked up the shield in the Disney Plus miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, he will finally come into his own as the next great defender of America in the upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World.
Brave New World wrapped up filming on June 30 and, according to a new rumor making the rounds, will see Robert Downey Jr. reprise his role as Iron Man. Whether this would constitute a flashback or some other appearance is unknown.
We can trace this rumor to the author and public speaker, Nawar Shora. Last week, Shora visited the set of Captain America: Brave New World in Washington, DC. While he was there, he spoke to a security guard who alleged that Downey had been on set.
Shora shared the exchange on his LinkedIn account. He wrote, “They are filming Captain America 4 around the White House and near my office. I was on a quick errand walk as I noticed all the lights and equipment and finally asked one of the security folks about it.”
Shora continued, “He was so talkative and nice, said — (SPOILER) — Robert Downey Jr was there last night and they were driving all sorts of super cars.” This rumor should be taken with a mound of salt, as even if the statement did happen, a security guard is hardly a reliable source.
Downey last played portrayed Tony Stark in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, where he died undoing Thanos’s universe-altering snap. Ordinarily, that should spell the end of his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but then Marvel introduced the multiverse.
With this concept, it becomes possible for Downey to reprise his role as the character. However, it won’t be the same character but a variant from an alternate universe from the one where the majority of the franchise’s stories have taken place.
Another theory we have is that Downey Jr will appear in flashback footage of his iconic character. We think this is more plausible since reports suggest the film will be grounded. By this, we mean the film will be realistic, and its story will be centered around Earth instead of the multiverse.
One thing we are sure of, though, is that Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will be very glad to see Downey’s face and Jack Sparrow-like swagger on the big screen again, whether he returns as an Iron Man variant or otherwise, especially since Marvel has done its best to discredit rumors of his return.
Either way, we believe his return, if it happens, will be brief. Besides, Downey has mostly moved on from the franchise that revitalized his career and has since been involved in other projects, including the upcoming Christopher Nolan-directed biopic Oppenheimer.
Downey is not the only member of the old guard that MCU fans want to see again. The erstwhile Captain America actor, Chris Evans, is another. However, Evans does not plan to return to the franchise just yet. Fortunately, he left the door open for his return someday, and even though it is not what they want, we are sure that fans will take solace in that.
Captain America: Brave New World will spin into theaters on July 26, 2024.
