“That’s a Non-Starter”- No Way Home Writers Say Marvel Closed the Door on Iron Man’s Return to the MCU

It seems like Robert Downey Jr.’s iconic turn as Tony Stark has come to a close as it looks like Marvel doesn’t want their future projects to have any traces of him.

For over a decade, Iron Man wowed fans as he kickstarted the blockbuster franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His turn as the genius billionaire is generally considered one of the best comic book adaptations of a character, and fans definitely held him close to their heart.

Following his heroic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, Stark’s chapter came to a close in the MCU. However, fans always wondered whether he will return in a cameo role, and according to the writers of Spider-Man: No Way Home, that’s big no-no.

During an interview on The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith, No Way Home writers Chris Mckenna and Erik Sommers talked about Marvel denying them of any to evoke Robert Downey Jr.’s character in the latest Spider-Man flick.

“I think honestly that’s like a non-starter in the halls of Marvel, at least in our experience.”

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was one of the main MCU characters that were deeply affected by Stark’s death in Endgame. Spidey even dealt with the aftermath of his mentor’s passing in the series’ second movie in Far From Home. In the end, according to the writers, the second movie showed that these characters had moved on from Tony Stark.

“Tony cast such a large shadow even after Endgame, which we dealt with in Far From Home. But I think everyone felt like we can’t just keep on going to the Tony well.”

While many would consider Tony to be Parker’s mentor figure and an Uncle Ben replacement in the MCU, it seemed like the writers wanted to go the other way. Hence why, it was Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May who helped Peter to get over the hump and become the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man that everyone loves.

While every Marvel fan would love to see Robert Downey Jr. return as Iron Man, it looks like they might have to come to peace with it because it sure seems like we have seen the last of him in the MCU.