Warning: Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame. Read on at your own risk.
Robert Downey Jr. has reflected on his journey as Iron Man/Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the wake of Avengers: Endgame. The actor was recently a guest on Off Camera and spoke a bit about his time as the beloved hero. Not surprisingly, he has strong feelings about the whole thing.
“I am not my work. I am not what I did with that studio. I am not that period of time that I spent playing this character,” Downey said. “And it sucks, because the kid in all of us wants to be like, ‘No. It’s always going to be summer camp and we’re all holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’.
In his post MCU life, Robert Downey Jr. will be starring in The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, which boasts an all-star cast and is set to arrive next year. He's also finally going to return to the role of Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes 3, which recently locked down Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher. The star explained, moving forward, that he doesn't just want to become dependant on what he describes as a sure thing.
"There’s always a dependency on something that feels like a sure thing. It’s the closest I will ever come to being a trust fund kid," Downey added. "There's a real bell-shaped curve. Initially, by creating and associating and synergizing with Tony Stark and the Marvel Universe, and being a good company man, but also being a little off kilter, being creative and getting into all these other partnerships, it was a time when"¦what do they say? Owners start looking like their pets,” said Downey.
The actor made it clear that he had an amazing run for the last decade and that he put in a lot of hard work. But it's all about the future and not leaning on what's easy. Since Tony Stark died in Endgame, the character's journey is over and that means, Downey will be moving onto other things. Some have taken some of what was said in the interview to mean that the actor is distancing himself from the role. In context with the interview, it's more about having to separate himself from the character in his real life. To illustrate the point, later in the interview, host Sam Jones said, "You are not your accomplishments To which, Robert Downey Jr. replied, "Unfortunately."
“I have not been forced to explore the new frontier of what is my creative and personal life after this,” Downey added. “It’s always good to get ahead of where you are about to be. If you put eyes on ‘that’s going to be a big turn down there, spring of ’19,’ I better start psychically getting on top of that… It’s always in the transitions between one phase and the next phase where people fall apart.
Thanks to Robert Downey Jr.'s tireless efforts as Iron Man, the MCU has become a $22 billion box office behemoth, with Endgame now just a few million dollars away from becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time. Downey is, unquestionably, leaving the role at the top of his game. Here's the official synopsis for Avengers: Endgame.
"Adrift in space with no food or water, Tony Stark sends a message to Pepper Potts as his oxygen supply starts to dwindle. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers – Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and Bruce Banner — must figure out a way to bring back their vanquished allies for an epic showdown with Thanos – the evil demigod who decimated the planet and the universe."
For those who want to relive the magic, Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital HD on July 30, with the Blu-ray/DVD release set for August 13.
So what do you think? Will Robert Downey Jr. have an equally successful career beyond the role of Iron Man? Sound off in the comments and be sure to check out the interview clips from the episode of Off Camera with Sam Jones.
