Deadpool & Wolverine Could Have Featured Robert Downey Jr. And All The Avengers

As a long-time comic book enthusiast with memories of waiting in line for midnight releases and collecting action figures, I can’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment that Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark didn’t make it into Deadpool & Wolverine. The thought of the two iconic characters sharing the screen was an exciting prospect, much like finding my long-lost Action Man figure in pristine condition among my childhood toys.


In the making of Deadpool and Wolverine, there were numerous appearances by other characters, yet not all desired actors could be persuaded to appear in minor roles within the movie. Initially, Robert Downey Jr., famously known as Tony Stark/Iron Man, was considered for a return, but unfortunately, it didn’t pan out. Furthermore, an ambitious plan aimed at bringing together the entire Avengers team fell through as well.

Screenwriter Paul Wernick revealed to IndieWire that they scripted a scene involving Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. Co-writer Rhett Reese shared that Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds rehearsed this scene with Favreau and Downey Jr., unbeknownst to them that Downey was preparing for a new role as Doctor Doom in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Avengers: Doomsday. In reality, Downey was set to portray a completely different character.

According to Wernick, the creative team behind Deadpool and Wolverine hadn’t learned about Robert Downey Jr.’s potential Doctor Doom role when they were brainstorming ways to incorporate him into the Deadpool movie.

“Wernick stated that it seemed unlikely he would accomplish both tasks. Then we pondered, ‘Could Downey possibly refuse Reynolds? Is there anyone who could turn down Ryan Reynolds?’ So Reynolds applied pressure on Downey. We wrote scenes for him to read, but what we didn’t realize at the time was that Downey had taken up the role of Doctor Doom.”

In the original version of the movie, as confirmed by Reese, Tony Stark was intended to turn down Deadpool, much like it unfolds in the final cut with Happy instead. However, the key distinction lies in the fact that Tony Stark himself would have appeared alongside Happy in this particular scene.

In a different phrasing, here’s what Reese stated: “We truly wished Downey could join us, but Marvel seems to have kept a secret weapon up their sleeve – he’s soon reappearing in another role. Given that Doctor Doom was following close behind, it didn’t seem logical for him to play Tony Stark.”

In the course of sharing more details, it was disclosed that an earlier stage in movie production featured a variant of this specific scene with all the Avengers gathered together.

Moreover, Wade encountered rejection, following which he humiliated the entire Avengers team in a manner uniquely characteristic of Deadpool. According to Wernick, this was intended to make Deadpool angry, leading him to lash out at each member aggressively and brutally. Reese corroborated this, stating that the scene depicted Deadpool becoming enraged and assaulting each Avenger in a violent fashion.

Reese pointed out that the concept was excessively challenging, explaining that assembling all the Avengers actors for a single shoot would have been impractical, and considering the potential expenses, it’s hard to imagine how it could have been done.

Deadpool & Wolverine is crushing it at the box office currently, exceeding $900 million so far.

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2024-08-09 18:39