Robert Downey Jr. Shuts Down Idea of Digital Likeness Replicas, Even After Death

Robert Downey, Jr. has become one of the highest-paid movie stars of all time, and he intends to use that money and cache to push back against ghoulish executives who would use technology to try and recreate his likeness. Appearing on the On With Kara Swisher podcast, Downey said that he trusts those currently in power at Marvel not to abuse his trust, and that when they’re gone (and after he’s dead), his attorneys will be looking out for him.

Asked about digital clones bringing Iron Man or other iconic performances back without his involvement, Downey shot it down pretty quickly, saying that while he doesn’t give the notion a lot of thought, he isn’t worried about it becoming an immediate problem.

“To go back to the MCU, I am not worried about them hijacking my character’s soul because there’s like three or four guys and gals who make all the decisions there anyway and they would never do that to me, with or without me,” Downey told Swisher.

After she noted that executives are replaceable, and future executives won’t be held to that same code of conduct, Downey quipped, “Well, you’re right. I would like to here state that I intend to sue all future executives just on spec.”

When Swisher countered that he might be dead by then, Downey added, “But my law firm will still be very active.”

Likeness rights are likely to be one of the next big legal questions with the rise of generative artificial intelligence and other digital technologies that can create believable digital replicas of individuals.

A lot of attention has gone to people using generative AI to create deepfake nudes and other inappropriate images and videos featuring people who do not consent, with San Francisco suing one of the sites that powers that tech. In Hollywood, though, there are already years of precedent that “resurrecting” dead actors (like Star Wars‘s Peter Cushing) is acceptable behavior.

The use of generative AI has become a sticking point in writing and acting contract negotiations already, with last year’s WGA strikes dragging on after studios tried to insist that they wanted to use AI for a variety of tasks currently part of the writers’ purview.

Downey’s Iron Man persona is retired (at least for now) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he will return in 2026 with Avengers: Doomsday, in which he will play the role of villain Doctor Doom.

h/t Variety