The Real Reason RDJ Rejected A Deadpool & Wolverine Cameo
"Deadpool & Wolverine" features plenty of Marvel cameos, including blasts from the past like Elektra, Blade, and a scene-stealing Johnny Storm. However, the filmmakers couldn't convince everyone to join in on the multiversal mayhem, as Robert Downey Jr. turned down the chance to reprise the role of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in the superhero comedy.
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00:00Deadpool and Wolverine features plenty of Marvel cameos, including blasts from the past
00:05like Elektra, Blade, and a scene-stealing Johnny Storm.
00:09However, the filmmakers couldn't convince everyone to join in on the multiversal mayhem,
00:14as Robert Downey Jr. turned down the chance to reprise the role of Tony Stark, a.k.a.
00:19Iron Man, in the superhero comedy.
00:21While speaking to IndieWire, Deadpool and Wolverine co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul
00:25Wernick revealed that they wanted the actor to do a cameo.
00:29Unfortunately, Downey Jr. being cast as Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe scuppered
00:34that plan, despite their best attempts to convince him.
00:37Wernick recalled,
00:38"[Behind the scenes, we didn't know about the Doctor Doom, and there's no way he was
00:42going to do both.
00:44And then we said, oh, Downey doesn't say no to Ryan Reynolds, does he?
00:48No one says no to Ryan Reynolds, and Ryan gave him the hard press.
00:52We wrote scenes, and Downey read the scenes.
00:54But what we didn't know behind the scenes was this Doctor Doom thing."
00:58Iron Man's emotional swan song in Avengers Endgame probably shouldn't be messed with,
01:03though it's worth noting that Deadpool and Wolverine opens with Logan's grave being desecrated,
01:08proving that the movie doesn't care about respecting dead superheroes.
01:12That said, Tony Stark's big comeback wouldn't have involved any grave-robbing, as the plan
01:16was to reunite him with an old friend.
01:18Deadpool and Wolverine sees Happy Hogan interview the Merc with a Mouth about joining the Avengers.
01:23Deadpool tries to convince Tony Stark's right-hand man that he's a good fit for the superhero
01:27team, but he's unsuccessful as he wants to join for self-centered reasons.
01:32After all, no one chooses to be an Avenger.
01:34Being an Avenger chooses them.
01:36It's an entertaining scene, but the original plan was to have Stark and Hogan interact
01:41with Reynolds' snarky antihero.
01:43However, now that the writers have the benefit of hindsight, they admit missing out on Robert
01:47Downey Jr. was for the best.
01:49Rhett Reese told IndieWire,
01:51I mean, look, we would have loved to have Downey, but at the same time, I think Marvel
01:55had this ace in their hole, which is he's about to come back in his different character.
02:00So to have him be Tony Stark, knowing that Doctor Doom was coming on the heels of that?
02:05It just didn't make sense.
02:07Downey Jr.'s reasons for turning down Deadpool and Wolverine are understandable, and the
02:11film's impressive box office performance proves that it didn't need his star power to succeed.
02:16At the same time, Marvel fans might be disappointed to learn that his decision deprived them of
02:21an Avengers reunion in the movie.
02:23Deadpool and Wolverine lambast the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially when it comes
02:27to the franchise's obsession with multiversal madness.
02:30Many fans believe that the MCU should have ended after Avengers Endgame, and the Merc
02:35with a Mouth cheekily addresses their concerns in his latest cinematic opus.
02:39His crusade against Marvel could have been even more intense, though, as the film's creators
02:43wanted him to roast the Avengers.
02:46In the aforementioned interview with IndieWire, Paul Wernick said that Tony Stark and Happy
02:50Hogan rejecting Deadpool's plea to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes would have caused him to
02:55throw a temper tantrum at Black Widow, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, and Captain America.
03:00His tirade would have been vicious, and there would have been jokes about Thor's hammer
03:04and Captain America's squeaky-clean vernacular.
03:07Unfortunately, Robert Downey Jr. saying no to a cameo ultimately stopped that scene from
03:11happening.
03:12As such, fans will have to wait to see if Deadpool will get a chance to cross paths
03:16with the Avengers at a later date.