Over the weekend, we learned that Marvel Studios considered bringing Robert Downey Jr. back as Iron Man for Deadpool & Wolverine's post-credits scene. For some reason, it didn't work out, though we still expect the actor to factor into the next Avengers movies.
With Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon - not to mention some big announcements at this month's San Diego Comic-Con - we started thinking about the ways Tony Stark could make his presence felt in the Multiverse Saga.
From Multiversal Variants to unexpected "resurrections" and even the possibility of Downey Jr. playing someone else altogether, we think you'll enjoy exploring these possibilities. Some are more likely than others, sure, but who knows what surprises are in store for us?
You can read through this feature by tapping the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. A Completely Different Character
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has been pretty adamant that Tony's heroic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame won't be undone. As we'll soon explain, the Multiverse provides ways around that but what if the idea is to give Downey Jr. the chance to do something totally different?
As a new character, the Oscar-winner can shake off Iron Man's shadow and show a completely new side of himself in the MCU...while making the same boatload of cash he did while playing the Armoured Avenger, of course.
Our suggestion? Doctor Doom! The villain's face is hidden and, given the complicated relationship between Kang, Doom, Iron Man, and Reed Richards (all of whom have been Kang Variants or linked to him in some way in the past), this works on several levels.
Downey Jr. can sink his teeth into a villainous role and be the perfect foil for Marvel's First Family either on their Earth or a rebooted 616.
4. Time Travel
When Marvel Studios first introduced the concept of the Multiverse, it was a whole lot less complicated. Essentially, it boiled down to time travel and diverging timelines; now, there are literally countless alternate realities which are either similar to 616 or vastly different.
For Iron Man's possible return, we'd recommend keeping things simple.
Yes, you could go down the route of plucking a near-unrecognisable Iron Man from another world and, as we'll soon discuss, there are some exciting benefits to that. Alternatively, why not head back in time and pluck Tony from the events of say, Iron Man?
This would be a "Variant," of course, but it's fun to imagine the Tony we saw reveal his identity to the world - and who wasn't a team player - taken from his timeline and thrown into a new group of Multiversal Avengers. He'd surely clash with his fellow heroes and it would allow Downey Jr. to revisit the Iron Man he first played in 2008.
3. The Multiverse Saga's Villain
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took us to a parallel Earth and introduced the Illuminati, a borderline villainous group of heroes who had killed Thanos and then murdered Stephen Strange for putting their reality at risk.
Unfortunately, Marvel Studios dropped the ball on Earth-838 by making it borderline futuristic and, for reasons which still aren't clear, dressing everyone there the same. The world Strange and America Chavez landed on ultimately felt vastly different to the one inhabited by the Illuminati.
That misstep aside and the reality laid waste to by the Scarlet Witch can still be revisited in the next Avengers movies.
The presence of Ultron drones and an empty chair in the Illuminati's headquarters suggested someone might be missing and we think it would be fun for that to be a "Superior" Iron Man who is now out for revenge. He can lead Earth-838's remaining heroes against those on 616, particularly if the two realities collide in an Incursion.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence these days, but Marvel Studios was ahead of the curve with the introduction of characters like J.A.R.V.I.S. and Ultron.
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, a hologram of Tony bid farewell to his daughter in an emotional moment. However, it also surely left the door open to an A.I. version of Iron Man being able to take control of one of his armours and "live" to fight another day.
This could be explained by a copy of his consciousness somehow being saved by his armour and, while it would only be a temporary return, it's a way to bring Iron Man back which doesn't cheapen his death. It also lines up with the comics.
It's not the most exciting way to facilitate the hero's return and we'd imagine Downey Jr. is keen to shake things up a little. If Marvel Studios just wants to get Iron Man back on screen (minus any complicated Multiversal baggage), this is the way to do it.
1. The "OG" Iron Man Returns
In Deadpool & Wolverine, Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine without undoing the mutant's sacrifice in Logan. Aside from a new costume, he seems largely the same as the previous version we've seen on screen and also lost his fellow X-Men in mysterious circumstances.
The Multiverse has provided Marvel Studios with a way of cheating and the same can be true for Downey Jr.'s return as Iron Man.
If Kevin Feige wants to reassemble the original six Avengers, then plucking a near-identical Tony Stark Variant from the timestream gives him the ability to do so without undoing Endgame or confusing moviegoers with too many Multiversal shenanigans.
It's not the most exciting possibility but some of the other ideas we've presented her could somehow come into play. Either way, there's something to be said about seeing the "original" Iron Man over a doppelganger with little in common with our Tony.