Before Robert Downey Jr. played Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he almost played a classic Marvel Comics villain. In a video celebrating the 15th anniversary of 2008’s Iron Man, director Jon Favreau revealed that Downey was at one time considered for Doctor Doom.
In the video, Favreau and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige talked about casting Downey as Tony Stark. “I think you had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project,” Favreau said to Feige. “I think he had come through on like maybe Fantastic Four, so everybody sort of knew who he was.”
Three years before Iron Man kicked off the MCU, the Fantastic Four appeared on the big screen in a 2005 film directed by Tim Story. In the film, Julian McMahon played Doctor Doom/Victor Von Doom. The film’s cast also included Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Jessica Alba as Invisible Woman/Susan Storm, Michael Chiklis as the Thing/Ben Grimm, and Chris Evans as Human Torch/Johnny Storm. Evans would later star alongside Downey in the MCU as Captain America/Steve Rogers. A sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, was released in 2007, which also featured McMahon as Doctor Doom.
After the first Iron Man, Downey returned as Tony Stark in the sequels Iron Man 2 (2010) and Iron Man 3 (2013). He also starred in four Avengers films, Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Tony Stark’s story in the MCU came to an end in 2019’s Avenger: Endgame, where he sacrificed himself to defeat the villain Thanos (Josh Brolin).
Although Iron Man’s story in the MCU is over, fans have been waiting for the Fantastic Four to appear in the franchise after Disney purchased 21st Century Fox in 2019. The first reference to the superhero group in the MCU was 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the film, an alternate universe version of Reed Richards (John Krasinski) appeared as a member of the Illuminati on Earth-838.
At San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, Feige announced that Marvel Studios is developing a Fantastic Four film. The film will be directed by Matt Shakman. Shakman previously directed all nine episodes of the Disney+ series WandaVision. The film is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2025.
The Iron Man Trilogy and the Fantastic Four films are currently available to stream on Disney+. The conversation between Favreau and Feige about Iron Man’s 15th anniversary can be watched below:
