Despite Robert Downey Jr.’s lack of box office success in 2008, Jon Favreau took a risk by casting him in “Iron Man,” a film that would launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This decision paid off tremendously and is considered the main reason for the success of the MCU. Christopher Nolan, known for his work on Batman rather than Iron Man, has praised this casting choice.
During an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Christopher Nolan commended director Jon Favreau for his boldness in selecting Robert Downey Jr. to portray Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark. Nolan stated, “I thought when [Jon] Favreau had the insight to take him on as Iron Man… It’s one of the great casting decisions in movie history. And you look at where that’s led and where it’s led everybody. And I think Jon just knew what an incredible actor, what incredible potential was there with Downey. And then it’s the charisma of a movie star, which is a wonderful charisma.” However, Nolan also acknowledged that Downey Jr. had to tone down his charisma to portray Lewis Strauss, a significant antagonist to J. Robert Oppenheimer, and encouraged him to ”lose himself in this real person.”
With Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role, “Iron Man” became the second highest-grossing film of 2008, only surpassed by Nolan’s ”The Dark Knight.” This achievement was quite remarkable considering Downey Jr.’s reputation at the time and the skepticism surrounding the box office potential of ”Iron Man” compared to other Marvel films. Nevertheless, it successfully launched the most profitable franchise in film history. Marvel President Kevin Feige expressed, “I still think the biggest risk – now it sounds outrageous – was the casting of Robert Downey Jr. It was simultaneously the biggest risk and the most important thing in the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Without Robert, we wouldn’t be sitting here today. I really believe that.” Downey Jr. went on to portray this character multiple times, including in his own trilogy and four Avengers films. It makes one wonder if the outcome would have been the same if Timothy Olyphant had been chosen for the role…
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