“Deadpool & Wolverine” writers have revealed that Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. turned down an offer for a cameo appearance as Tony Stark/Iron Man in Marvel’s latest blockbuster.
In a recent interview with a US media outlet, the movie’s co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick said that they had written a scene for the “Sherlock Holmes” actor, however, it never became a reality as he turned down the offer.
“We had wanted him [Robert Downey Jr.] to do a cameo. We had written that scene [to start] with Happy and Downey,” Wernick said.
“Ryan Reynolds wrote the scene with both of them, so in the hopes we could get Downey,” said Reese. “But he also wanted Jon Favreau, because they’re a great combo, and they were all in the scene together.”
However, Paul Wernick said they did not know the Hollywood star’s upcoming Marvel return as Doctor Doom.
“There is no way he was going to do both. And then we said, ‘Oh, Downey doesn’t say no to Ryan Reynolds, does he? No one says no to Ryan Reynolds.’ And Ryan gave him the hard press. We wrote scenes, and Downey read the scenes, but what we didn’t know behind the scenes was this Doctor Doom thing,” the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ writer added.
Both Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick said that they did not know about Rober Downey Jr. returning as the famous character when they approached him to make a cameo appearance as Iron Man in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’.
“I mean, look, we would’ve loved to have Downey. But, at the same time, I think Marvel had this ace in their hole, which is he’s about to come back in this different character. So, to have him be Tony Stark? Knowing that Doctor Doom was coming on the heels of that? It just didn’t make sense,” Reese said.
Meanwhile, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, led by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, has now passed the $1 billion mark in global ticket sales, with $494.3 million in North America and $535 million internationally, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said.
The movie has already set a new record for the highest domestic gross for an R-rated feature, a distinction held since 2004 by Mel Gibson’s epic drama ‘The Passion of the Christ’ ($370 million, not inflation-adjusted).
It also ranks as the eighth-best debut of all time and the biggest start of 2024, overtaking Disney’s Pixar sequel “Inside Out 2” ($155 million debut).
