Why Robert Downey Jr Rejected An Iron Man Cameo In Deadpool & Wolverine

"Deadpool & Wolverine" features plenty of Marvel cameos, including blasts from the past like Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Blade (Wesley Snipes), and a scene-stealing Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). 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.

While speaking to Indiewire, "Deadpool & Wolverine" co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick revealed that they wanted the actor to do a cameo. Unfortunately, Downey Jr. being cast as Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe scuppered that plan, despite their best attempts to convince him. "Behind the scenes, we didn't know about the Doctor Doom," Wernick recalled. "And there's no way he was going to do both. And then we said, 'Oh, Downey doesn't say 'no' to Ryan Reynolds, does he? No one says no to Ryan Reynolds.' And Ryan gave him the hard press. We wrote scenes, and Downey read the scenes, but what we didn't know behind the scenes was this Doctor Doom thing."

Iron Man's emotional swansong in "Avengers: Endgame" probably shouldn't be messed with, though it's worth noting that "Deadpool & Wolverine" opens with Logan's grave being desecrated, proving that the movie doesn't care about respecting dead superheroes. That said, Tony Stark's big comeback wouldn't have involved any graverobbing, as the plan was to reunite him with an old friend.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" sees Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) interview the Merc with a Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) about joining the Avengers. Deadpool tries to convince Tony Stark's right-hand man that he's a good fit for the superhero team, but he's unsuccessful, as he wants to join for self-centered reasons. After all, no one chooses to be an Avenger — being an Avenger chooses them. It's an entertaining scene, but the original plan was to have Stark and Hogan interact with Reynolds' snarky anti-hero. 

However, now that the writers have the benefit of hindsight, they accept missing out on Robert Downey Jr. was for the best. "I mean, look, we would've loved to have Downey," Rhett Reese told Indiewire. "But, at the same time, I think Marvel had this ace in their hole, which is he's about to come back in this different character. So, to have him be Tony Stark? Knowing that Doctor Doom was coming on the heels of that? It just didn't make sense."

Downey Jr.'s reasons for turning down "Deadpool & Wolverine" are understandable, and the film's impressive box office performance proves that it didn't need his star power to succeed. At the same time, Marvel fans might be disappointed to learn that his decision deprived them of an Avengers reunion in the movie.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" lambasts the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially when it comes to the franchise's obsession with multiversal madness. Many fans believe that the MCU should have ended after "Avengers: Endgame," and the Merc with a Mouth cheekily addresses their concerns in his latest cinematic opus. His crusade against Marvel could have been even more intense, though, as the film's creators wanted him to roast The Avengers.

In the aforementioned interview with Indiewire, Paul Wernick said that Tony Stark and Happy Hogan rejecting Deadpool's plea to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes would have caused him to throw a temper tantrum at Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Captain America (Chris Evans). His tirade would have been vicious, and there would have been jokes about Thor's hammer and Captain America's squeaky clean vernacular.

Unfortunately, Robert Downey Jr. saying no to a cameo ultimately stopped that scene from happening. As such, fans will have to wait to see if Deadpool will get a chance to cross paths with the Avengers at a later date.