10 Huge What Ifs That Could Have Changed The MCU Forever
7. What If Robert Downey Jr. Left After Iron Man 3?
The vast majority of the events that took place throughout the entire Infinity Saga can all be traced back to Tony Stark in some way, which isn't surprising given his status as the MCU's marquee name for over a decade.
However, the complexion of the franchise could have looked entirely different had Robert Downey Jr. opted to walk away from Iron Man after the third installment marked his final contractual obligation to the studio.
Kevin Feige even hinted at a Bond-like recasting in 2012, and in interviews around that time the actor certainly didn't shy away from the speculation that he was done playing a superhero. However, money always talks the loudest in the end, and Downey Jr. eventually re-negotiated his contract several times over the next few years to become the highest-paid supporting player the business had ever seen.
The ending of Iron Man 3 seemed to deliberately hint that Tony was hanging up the armor for good just in case RDJ didn't show any interest in signing up for more adventures, and if he'd walked away from the role that shot him to a permanent residence at the top of the A-list, it would have blown a massive hole in the studio's plans for the next half a decade that would have left them scrambling to come up with a solution.