Kevin Feige says Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man isn't coming back to the MCU: "We would never want to magically undo it"

Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame — (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Kevin Feige has definitively shot down rumors that Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man will be returning to the MCU.

A report from Variety recently claimed that the original six Avengers – Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, Chris Evans' Captain America, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, Chris Hemsworth's Thor, and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk – could potentially be reuniting for another movie.

Of course, Iron Man heroically sacrificed himself to save the world in Avengers: Endgame, meaning any return would involve bringing him back to life and seriously undercutting that emotional moment. As Feige told Vanity Fair, that's just not on the cards.

"We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again," Feige told the publication. "We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way."

Evans has also debunked the speculation that he'll be donning the red, white, and blue once more. "I always see those reports too, and it's news to me," he commented. "I think every couple months, someone says they're getting Downey, and Hemsworth, and Scarlett, and everyone's coming back... No one's spoken to me about it."

Next up for Marvel is Echo, a Hawkeye spin-off arriving January 10, 2024. The series sees the return of Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez, Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin, and Charlie Cox's Daredevil. The only MCU film arriving next year, however, is Deadpool 3, which stars Ryan Reynolds as the titular mercenary and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows.

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I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.