Robert Downey Jr. Originally Met for a Marvel Fantastic Four Role

It’s been 15 years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with Iron Man (2008), and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige sat down with Iron Man director Jon Favreau to reflect on the long and sometimes hard road that led to the biggest franchise in the world. During that chat, Marvel fans got a rare insight into some of the deep-cut anecdotes from the making of the Iron Man movie – including the fact that Robert Downey Jr. originally had a different Marvel movie in his sights: Fantastic Four!

Kevin Feige was interviewing Jon Favreau about his memories of how Iron Man took shape around one pivotal milestone: the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. However, as Favreau remembered, Downey had come in to audition for several different Marvel roles – including Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom! 

“I remember that Robert had come in for a general on it – and I remember you had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project. I think he had come through like maybe Fantastic Four? So everybody sort of knew who he was, and I remember sitting down with the guy, and I was like ‘Geez he’s just got it – he’s got that spark in him, in his eye and he’s ready.’ And that’s when we were in your office [Kevin] and we were pointing to his headshot and saying, ‘We gotta try to figure this out.’” 

Jon Favreau started production on Iron Man in the spring of 2006, and Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Tony Stark in September of that year. The Fantastic Four movie by director Tim Story (featuring Doctor Doom as the villain) started production a full two years earlier, in the Spring of 2004, and was released in theaters in July of 2005. That should only illustrate the level of patience that Robert Downey Jr. had to have while trying to find the right way back into the limelight. By the mid-2000s, the actor’s offscreen controversies made him increasingly difficult for studios to invest in; his role as Tony Stark in Iron Man was as much of a game-changer for Downey’s career as it was for Feige, Favreau, and their dreams of a Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

These kinds of Marvel movie anecdotes used to be just fun for trivia clout and giggles – but with events like Avengers: Secret Wars and The Kang Dynasty on the way from Marvel Studios in the coming years, it could also be an opportunity to bring Downey (and others) in for some unexpected cameos. 

Meanwhile, Marvel fans everywhere are waiting to see who Marvel Studios casts as Doctor Dom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of Fantastic Four. 

You can stream Iron Man and Fantastic Four (2005) on Disney+.