WARNING! This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home!

Despite Tony Stark’s death, MCU Phase 4 continues to rely upon his character to trigger new events, suggesting that the only way for the MCU to move forward is to recast Iron Man. Writers for Spider-Man: No Way Home have stated that Marvel is trying to move past Iron Man. However, many MCU Phase 4 movies and shows have referenced Iron Man, such as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Additionally, several upcoming series will deal directly with Tony Stark’s legacy, including Armor Wars and Ironheart. This hints that the MCU might not be done with one of its most popular characters yet.

However, Robert Downey Jr. is done playing Iron Man. After portraying Tony Stark in 11 Marvel films, RDJ retired from the role. Believing that he has done all he could for Stark’s character, RDJ is now focusing on projects outside of the MCU. To mark his split from the Marvel franchise, RDJ even unfollowed all of his costars from The Avengers on social media.

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Such was Iron Man's influence over the events of the first three Phases of the MCU that simply ignoring him as a presence will not work. Both in terms of his role in shaping the Avengers and contributing spectacular technological advancements to the world of the MCU, continuing to mention him in passing will only enhance his haunting presence across the franchise. However, his Avengers: Endgame death does not mean that the MCU cannot use Iron Man’s character anymore. Although the role is strongly tied to RDJ’s performance, other actors could also portray Stark well. For example, Mick Wingert voiced Iron Man in the animated show, What If…? Similarly, Marvel could recast Iron Man in live-action media, allowing the MCU to explore his character in new ways. This recasting is possible due to the MCU’s introduction of the multiverse, and rumors about the potential next Iron Man are already spreading.

Iron Man with his helmet off in Avengers: Endgame

With the inclusion of the multiverse in the MCU, Marvel has a way to logically recast Iron Man. Loki initially introduced the multiverse to the MCU, explaining the concept and then unleashing it upon existence within a single season of the show. Spider-Man: No Way Home further expanded upon the idea by depicting the multiverse fracturing and allowing people from other universes to enter the main MCU timeline. This made it possible for the MCU to feature characters from past incarnations of Spider-Man, including Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin, Alfred Molina as Doctor Otto Octavius, and both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as other Peter Parkers. In the same way, the MCU could also introduce a variant of Tony Stark from another universe, played by a different actor.

In fact, there are already rumors about who the next Iron Man could be. According to an article (via Inside the Magic), many fans believe Marvel may have cast Tom Cruise as an alternate Tony Stark in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Although Cruise has not confirmed this rumor, some fans have already begun making art that depicts what Cruise would look like as Iron Man. Given his lengthy list of action films, such as Mission: Impossible, Edge of Tomorrow, and The Last Samurai, Cruise has the experience to portray Iron Man. He was even originally considered for the role of Iron Man before RDJ, but Cruise turned down the offer. While these are still only rumors, recasting Iron Man may be a smart move for Marvel, enabling them to continue using the character without detracting from RDJ’s Iron Man’s legacy.

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