Robert Downey Jr. Reportedly Considering 'Iron Man' Return

East Hampton’s Robert Downey Jr. took a final bow as Tony Stark/Iron Man in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, in which the character sacrificed his life to rid the universe of the genocidal Thanos. But as fans of comic books know, characters are rarely gone forever.

We Got This Covered reports that Downey has considered reprising the iconic role that he’s played since 2008’s Iron Man—if certain conditions are met. The star has apparently asked for a hefty sum to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which Marvel Studios is hesitant to pay, especially if he were only to return in a limited capacity. Downey is apparently also asking that fellow East Ender Gwyneth Paltrow return as Tony Stark’s wife, Pepper Potts, as he considers her very important to the story. Paltrow, though, has gone on record saying that she’s done with the role.

Last year, rumors circulated that Marvel was looking to bring Downey back for the Disney+ series Ironheart, which will follow 15-year-old engineering prodigy Riri Williams in her pursuit to become an armored superheroine akin to Iron Man and Pepper’s armored counterpart, Rescue. Downey would be playing an artificial intelligence version of Tony Stark, but it’s unknown if he’d make any sort of onscreen appearance in a flashback or hologram capacity.

Downey recently starred in Dolittle, which was critically panned and didn’t perform well at the box office. 

Come back, Iron Man!