A lot of actors have lent their talents to the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the years, but for a long time, Robert Downey Jr. was arguably the “face” of the popular superhero franchise. Downey’s performance as Tony Stark was one of the main reasons Iron Man was so well received, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige even proclaimed this casting as “one of the most significant decisions in the history of Hollywood.” However, had life gone differently, we might’ve see Downey play a major Marvel villain rather than one of its greatest heroes: Doctor Doom.
Kevin Feige and director Jon Favreau got together to reminisce about Iron Man for a Marvel video celebrating the movie’s 15th anniversary, so naturally the circumstances surrounding Downey being cast as the title protagonist was discussed. That led to Favreau sharing this tidbit about how the actor had already crossed paths with Marvel before the 2008 movie was put together:
