While I loved seeing familiar faces pop up in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine every five minutes, I’m actually kind of glad that Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t one of them now that he has been confirmed to be portraying Doctor Doom in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. July 2024 was a huge month for Marvel after unveiling its only cinematic release, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, and a flurry of huge announcements at San Diego Comic-Con. In fact, it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. would be portraying the MCU’s version of Doctor Doom on the same weekend that ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was released.
This made for one big trip down memory lane on that weekend alone, as the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine cameos were all part of the love letter to the Marvel movies of yesteryear. These cameos mostly comprised characters from Fox’s Marvel movie franchises, though a fleeting visit from the MCU’s Happy Hogan was certainly one of the most memorable. While another MCU star, Chris Evans, also made a huge cameo, it was as Johnny Storm from Fox’s Fantastic Four duology. He was nearly joined by Robert Downey Jr., though there was really only one character he could have played.
Robert Downey Jr Was Offered A Cameo In ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine
He Would Have Appeared Alongside Happy Hogan
Cameos collectively played a huge role in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, with the appearance of resistance members like Blade and Gambit turning the Void into a meta representation of development hell. Still, before ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool embarked on his jaunt to this realm, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine‘s writer duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick revealed in an interview via Variety that Robert Downey Jr. was intended to star in a more throwaway cameo in the very same scene that spotlighted Happy Hogan. Reese then revealed that he was one of the only stars to ever refuse them, stating:
“Ryan Reynolds wrote the scene with both of them, so in the hopes we could get Downey. But he also wanted Favreau, because they’re a great combo, and they were all in the scene together…[RDJ] was the only ‘no’ we’ve ever gotten, I think, in terms of people just saying, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do it.’”
The writers later revealed that an even earlier draft of the script intended for more Avengers to be present (the original six) before ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool gave them an expected dressing-down. While this earlier idea was scrapped in favor of the latter, I can see why Reese and Wernick’s were confused about being turned down by Robert Downey Jr. for some undisclosed reason. The truth is that the team was unaware of what was happening behind the scenes, and RDJ’s rejection wasn’t necessarily because he wasn’t keen to revisit the MCU five years after his character’s apparent death.
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s Team Didn’t Know RDJ Was About To Be Doctor Doom
Robert Downey Jr. Was Revealed To Be Portraying Doctor Doom During ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s Opening Weekend
In the same interview, Reese and Wernick revealed that they were unaware that Robert Downey Jr. was already being primed to return to the MCU, only this time as the Multiverse Saga’s arch-villain. After the closely-held secret was unveiled at 2024’s San Diego Comic-Con, Reese and Wernick were able to make sense of RDJ’s rejection, as a ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine cameo as Tony Stark would have complicated the big reveal of RDJ returning as Doctor Doom. Elaborating on their feelings after witnessing the SDCC announcement, Wernick added:
“Behind the scenes, we didn’t know about the Doctor Doom, and there’s no way he was going to do both. And then we said, ‘Oh, Downey doesn’t say “no” to Ryan Reynolds, does he? No one says no to Ryan Reynolds.’ And Ryan gave him the hard press. We wrote scenes, and Downey read the scenes, but what we didn’t know behind the scenes was this Doctor Doom thing.”
It is unclear whether Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel Studios executives were aware that RDJ’s reveal at San Diego Comic-Con would occur on the exact same opening weekend as ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. I think it’s safe to say, however, that a ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Iron Man cameo and Doctor Doom reveal happening simultaneously would have dazed most audiences, especially if Iron Man’s return in a short scene might have convinced some that he’s back in that role for good. I’m happy to go a step further and suggest that an Iron Man cameo would have been the wrong decision, regardless.
I Think Pᴀssing On A ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Cameo Was The Right Move For RDJ’s MCU Future
It Would Have Made Things A Lot Messier
The precise timeline of events is unclear, but I don’t think bringing back RDJ’s Iron Man in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine would have been the right decision regardless of whether he was already confirmed to portray Doom behind the scenes. Iron Man’s death in Avengers: Endgame still lingers as one of the most impactful moments in the MCU, and discussions were already swelling about a potential return as a variant cheapening that moment. Even RDJ being cast as Doctor Doom has sparked some backlash for similar reasons, though it seems Marvel intends to sidestep Doom being an Iron Man variant.
Coincidentally, Chris Evans’ return as an entirely different character in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine has made it more possible for RDJ to return as a completely different character (Doctor Doom) in Avengers: Doomsday.
The same could be said for bringing back Chris Evans in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, though I still think that making him a Johnny Storm variant instead of Captain America was an expert move. Bringing back Tony Stark in the same movie, however, would have made the whole thing feel more contrived. Furthermore, now that we do know that RDJ is portraying Doom, it’s safe to say that seeing his face on the big screen for the first time since Avengers: Endgame will have a far greater impact than if he returned for a swift appearance in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine.
Source: Variety
