Robert Downey Jr. has become the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tony Stark aka Iron Man. However, as the actor reveals, he first had a role at DC in mind
Although Robert Downey Jr. turned his back on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) five years ago with Avengers 4: Endgame, his name is still firmly attached to the hugely successful franchise. Since 2008, he has starred as the inventive Tony Stark, who transforms into the superhero Iron Man.
However, the story almost turned out very differently. As Downey Jr. revealed at a screening of his latest hit, Oppenheimer, at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles at the weekend, he put out feelers towards DC before Marvel. He wanted to play the villain Scarecrow in Batman Begins.
Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. wanted to play Scarecrow in Batman Begins
Batman Begins was released in 2005 with Christian Bale as the Dark Knight. Before filming began, Downey Jr. met with director Christopher Nolan to discuss the role of the antagonist. The actor quickly realized that he had no chance of facing Batman as Scarecrow.
Downey Jr. tells (via Collider ):
And then I remember meeting him for tea and I thought, ‘He doesn’t really seem to be into this interview. He was polite and all that, but you can tell when someone’s acting like that [the conversation] isn’t going to go anywhere.’
RDJ dropping BOMBS at the @am_cinematheque conversation. He apparently met w/Nolan for SCARECROW for Batman Begins only to be beat out by Cillian Murphy. Woah! Oppenheimer pic.twitter.com/zBE9tts47E
– Griffin Schiller (@griffschiller) February 4, 2024
The suspicion should be confirmed: Downey Jr. didn’t get the role. Cillian Murphy took the part instead. As psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane, he transformed himself into a sinister villain who looks like a horror scarecrow and develops a hallucinogen that terrifies Gotham City.
