Robert Downey Jr., 54, isn’t ruling out the return of Iron Man! “Now that I’m middle aged, to be honest, you start looking at the back nine and you go, oh this is part of the journey. Things end and everyone is going somewhere,” Robert explained to Today‘s Hoda Kotb on Wednesday, Jan. 15, reflecting on the last few years of his life and career. When Hoda pressed about “maybe” reviving the beloved character, the New York native offered a bit of a tease! “I am so pleased that I wound up where I have, I’m very fortunate. So I’m not the kind of guy… I want to keep it classy. We’ll see,” he answered.
The actor originated the role of Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) in the 2008 title film, which kickstarted the entire Avengers franchise. As the leader of the the group — which includes, of course, legends Caption America, Thor, and Spider-Man, just to name a few — Iron Man sadly sacrificed himself in 2019’s Avengers: End Game. The film concluded with an emotional funeral scene featuring all of our favorite characters — including wife Pepper, played by Gwyneth Paltrow — as the film celebrated Iron Man’s heroic legacy. Robert was definitely well-aware of fans wishes for the character to return, joking that they might be experiencing “stages of grief.”
Since wrapping up on the Avengers films, Robert has been been keeping busy with a starring role in Dolittle alongside Selena Gomez! Playing a doctor with the unique ability to talk to animals, Robert was excited to bring the iconic book character back to the silver screen. “I wanted to do something different, I played Chaplin, I played Sherlock, I wanted to up my game,” he revealed. It turns out the film already has two big fans: his sons Exton Elias, 7, and Avri Roel, 5, and the kid-friendly movie marked the first of their dads’ premieres they could attend! “It’s a PG film! [They gave it] a thumbs up…but at that point, they were probably eating cotton candy,” he joked.
Robert shares the two boys with wife Susan Downey, who he married in 2005, in addition to his 26-year-old son Indio with ex Deborah Falconer. “Life is an obstacle course, I think if anything, it’s that nothing is ever all okay at the same time,” he said of fatherhood. “It’s important when you have those moments, when everything is good…your kids are healthy — and you just want to wave a flag that says this is one of those days that I have no complaints, no wreckage, no apologies and this is great.”