Robert Downey Jr. cameo was written for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ but ‘MCU clearly had bigger plans’

Before Robert Downey Jr.’s return to Marvel as Doctor Doom, the creators of “Deadpool & Wolverine” explored the possibility of bringing him back as Tony Stark.

Director Shawn Levy revealed that almost everyone approached for a cameo in the film agreed to participate, including Jennifer Garner (Elektra), Henry Cavill (The “Cavillrine” Wolverine variant) and Wesley Snipes (Blade).

However, one major cameo didn’t materialize.

“That’s true,” co-writer Rhett Reese told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview about rumors of a Downey, 59, cameo. “That’s definitely something we were toying with.”

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“There is a script. We have the Downey draft,” co-writer Paul Wernick confirmed to the outlet.

In the scene the audiences see in theaters, Deadpool/Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) travels to the Avengers Tower in 2018 to meet with Happy Hogan (“Iron Man” director Jon Favreau) and inquires if Tony Stark will be joining them.

In the original version, Reynolds, 47, wrote that Tony and Happy appear together. The “Deadpool & Wolverine” team prepared for the possibility that Downey might decline or Marvel might veto the cameo.

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“The feeling was, if Downey either decides not to do it, or if Marvel decides not to have him do it, or for whatever reason it doesn’t work out, [it would then] be tailored for Happy Hogan,” explained Reese.

Ultimately, Downey was busy with a different return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as his upcoming role as Doctor Doom was announced at San Diego Comic-Con on the eve of “Deadpool & Wolverine’s” debut in theaters.

“The MCU clearly had bigger plans for Downey, which we’ve just learned, which is the Doctor Doom thing,” Reese continued.”Ultimately, I think that’s why it didn’t happen, though I don’t have the real reason it didn’t happen.”

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Downey will star as the villain in “Avengers: Doomsday” (2026) and “Avengers: Secret Wars” (2027).

Two other “Avengers” veterans made appearances in “Deadpool & Wolverine”: Chris Hemsworth reprised his role as Thor for a brief scene, and Chris Evans returned not as Steve Rogers/Captain America, but as Johnny Storm from the “Fantastic Four” movies.

Evans expressed his excitement in an interview with Entertainment Weekly , saying, “Ryan’s a buddy. He just shot me a text saying, ‘Listen, might be a long shot, but would you have any interest in reprising something from 20 years ago?’ I said, ‘Oh my God! Of course.’ Honestly, Ryan might be the only guy that I would’ve done it for because he’s just got the Midas touch.”

“Deadpool & Wolverine” has been a box office success. Domestically, the film surpassed “Captain Marvel” to become the No. 8 all-time MCU release. The original “Deadpool” (2016) grossed $782.6 million, and the sequel “Deadpool 2” earned $734.5 million.

The 2024 film is expected to cross the $1 billion mark over the weekend, per Deadline. It released in theaters on July 26.

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