‘Avengers: Endgame’ Directors Joe and Anthony Russo Weigh in on Robert Downey Jr.’s Potential MCU Return

In a new interview with GamesRadar+, Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo weighed in on Robert Downey Jr.’s hotly debated return to the Marvel universe.

Though Downey said in a recent interview that he would “happily” reprise the role of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, the Russo brothers aren’t eager to welcome the character back to the MCU. Stark famously died at the conclusion of Endgame, for all intents and purposes leaving Spider-Man (Tom Holland) as his successor.

“I don’t know how they would do it,” Anthony remarked. “I don’t know what the road to that would be [laughs].”

“I mean, we closed that book,” Joe added, “so it would be up to [Marvel Studios] to figure out how to reopen it.”

The Russo brothers aren’t the only Marvel creatives to balk at resurrecting Tony Stark. Kevin Feige weighed in on the debate last December, expressing doubt that bringing Downey back would be a good move for the franchise.

“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige said at the time. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”

Though Downey has seemingly dissed Marvel a few times in the past, the star told Esquire earlier this month that he would “happily” don his Iron Man suit again.

“Happily. It’s too integral a part of my DNA,” Downey said of the character and Marvel. “That role chose me. And look, I always say, ‘Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige.’ It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”

Downey is currently appearing on HBO’s The Sympathizer, in which he plays four different roles. It’s currently streaming on Max.