Following Iron Man's death, Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark in an exciting Avengers: Secret Wars fan poster to end the Multiverse Saga.

Summary

• A fan poster imagines Robert Downey Jr. returning as a different version of Iron Man in Avengers: Secret Wars, opening the doors for past MCU actors to return in different ways.
• The upcoming Marvel films, including Deadpool 3, are rumored to be major steps toward Avengers: Secret Wars, with characters from past franchises making appearances.
• Avengers: Secret Wars could potentially bring a soft reboot to the MCU, making it the last opportunity for Downey to return as Iron Man and for other original Avengers to play different versions of their characters.

A stunning Avengers: Secret Wars fan poster brings back Robert Downey Jr. as a different version of Iron Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Downey last played Tony Stark in 2019's Avengers: Endgame, with Iron Man famously sacrificing himself to save the world. After having led all MCU Avengers movies so far, 2026's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty should be the first without Iron Man, though that could change a year later.

On Instagram, digital artist @marvels.wolverine depicted what RDJ's return to the MCU as Iron Man in Avengers: Secret Wars could look like.

Avengers: Secret Wars' plot, if the film is anything like the 2015 Marvel Comics event, opens the doors for past MCU actors to return in different ways. The fan poster imagines Downey coming back as the Superior Iron Man variant of Tony Stark which Tom Cruise was rumored to play in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but turned out not to be true.

Could Robert Downey Jr. Return In Avengers: Secret Wars

There are several MCU projects to be released until Avengers: Secret Wars arrives in 2027, and the upcoming Marvel films should hint at the scope of the Multiverse Saga's finale. Deadpool 3 is already rumored to be a major step toward Avengers: Secret Wars, with many characters from past Fox Marvel films said to be in the MCU movie and set photos and videos suggesting the rumors are correct.

Spider-Man: No Way Home already brought several characters from the past two Spider-Man movie franchises to the MCU, and with Deadpool 3 seemingly set to do the same soon, the doors are open for MCU actors to also return to the franchise. Avengers: Endgame killed Iron Man and Black Widow, with Steve Rogers retiring and passing on his Captain America shield to Sam Wilson. All three original Avengers could return in the film. The multiverse allows Downey, Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Evans to come back and play different versions of their characters in order not to mess with the conclusion to their stories.

A return as past versions of their MCU heroes is also possible for Avengers: Secret Wars.

With the reveal that Avengers: Secret Wars might bring a soft reboot of the MCU, the movie stands as the last project in which Downey could return as Iron Man. If Marvel Studios' idea is to reboot the franchise so that the actors who left are replaced by younger stars who can play heroes like Iron Man and Captain America alongside the MCU's X-Men and Fantastic Four, then it would make little sense for RDJ to return after a possible reboot. Besides, after Avengers: Secret Wars, the MCU could be done with the multiverse altogether, which makes Downey's possible return as Iron Man in the film an unmissable opportunity.

Source: @marvels.wolverine/Instagram

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