What Robert Downey Jr’s upcoming films could mean for his future in the MCU
Robert Downey Jr has announced a slate of potentially huge films in the next couple of years. It’s the busiest he’s been in a decade. Does that mean he’s moving on from Iron Man and the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Basking in the success of Avengers: Infinity War, and with Avengers 4 already in the can, Robert Downey Jr is looking to the future. And since the decisions he makes are potentially worth millions, maybe even billions of dollars, and directly related to the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we should all pay attention.
Downey Jr sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss his upcoming slate of movies, and it appears that the star is making a conscious choice to explore characters outside the MCU. In the decade since he first took on the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man, Downey Jr has appeared in only six other movies - one of them was a cameo in Chef, and two of them belonged to his second franchise, Sherlock Holmes.
And after years of delay, Downey Jr confirmed to EW that he would star in a third Sherlock Holmes film for a 2020 release. The last Sherlock movie was released in 2011, and Downey Jr didn’t say anything about the involvement of director Guy Ritchie.
In addition to this, he is currently filming what appears to be another potential franchise film - The Voyage of Doctor Doolittle. “First of all the missus is front and centre with Joe Roth producing Doolittle. I’m having a good time, though I decided to give myself, like, 40 additional challenges, like a Welsh accent — which even Welsh people say is hard to do. Then there’s all this stuff down the pike,” he said.
Doolittle, directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan, is scheduled for release a month before the fourth Avengers film. Downey Jr recently unveiled the film’s star cast that includes the likes of Antonio Banderas, Tom Holland, Selena Gomez, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson and Marion Cotillard, among others.
Downey Jr also plans to star as Geppetto in a Pinocchio movie, to be directed by Ron Howard, and a Perry Mason TV show for HBO.
Downey Jr hasn’t been this active since he began starring in Marvel movies. A recent report included him among the very few Hollywood stars who command a salary of $20 million per movie. Each of the films he’s working on have franchise potential. Downey Jr isn’t slowing down anytime soon, although this does put serious doubts over his future in the MCU.
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