Marvel fans ‘relieved’ Robert Downey Jr part scrapped for Deadpool & Wolverine

The hotly rumored Robert Downey Jr cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine wasn’t just fan conjecture, as writers revealed Tony Stark very nearly appeared in the final script.

July ended with a hell of a bang for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Deadpool & Wolverine seems to have been a shot in the arm after years of misfires, shattering box office records, and reinvigorating interest in not just the MCU but ailing movie characters like Blade and Gambit.

Meanwhile, Marvel Studios blew the roof off of Hall H with the announcement that Robert Downey Jr would be returning to the fold, playing Doctor Doom for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

However, Downey was long rumored to be returning for the first time since Stark’s death as one of Deadpool & Wolverine’s many cameos. While most fans dismissed them outright, it turns out a scene featuring a Tony Stark cameo was in one version of the script.

The scene in question is from Deadpool & Wolverine’s opening, where Deadpool pitches Happy Hogan on him joining The Avengers but is dismissed because he’s in it for selfish reasons. As writer Rhett Reese explains in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the scene originally had Tony Stark shooting down Deadpool instead.

“Ryan wrote a Downey scene, and it was the two of them,” Reese says. “The feeling was, if Downey either decides not to do it, or if Marvel decides not to have him do it, or for whatever reason it doesn’t work out, [it would then] be tailored for Happy Hogan.”

Reese doesn’t explicitly say why the cameo was scrapped, but it’s likely it was sidestepped in favor of putting all the shine on Downey’s Doctor Doom return, which was announced days after Deadpool & Wolverine released. For their part, fans seemingly understand this.

While there are some upset that we didn’t get to see Iron Man return, others across social media are relieved, saying such a return would have been “a disservice” to Deadpool and are applauding Marvel Studios for making the right decision.

Others are noting the cameo wouldn’t have been appropriate for Tony and that allowing the focus to rest on his Doctor Doom reveal was the right call. Reese, for what it’s worth, definitely seems to agree.

“We did love the idea of Tony Stark being in there, but we also perfectly understand why it didn’t happen given that Downey jumped up on stage and became Dr. Doom not 10 seconds after our movie came out. So it was clear that that was the path that we didn’t realize was the path.”

Downey will officially return as Doctor Doom in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, though rumors indicate we may see him in next year’s The Fantastic Four: The First Steps as a teaser. 

While you wait for that, you can read all about the twists and turns of the Marvel timeline. We’ve also got plenty of coverage on all the new movies Marvel Studios is currently working on, including Captain America 4, Thunderbolts, and Avengers Secret Wars.