Marvel Boss Changes Tune About Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans Return

Kevin Feige spoke about the possible return of Iron Man and Captain America in future MCU movies after Hugh Jackman's Wolverine reprisal.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told Discussing Film that it’s possible Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans could return to the MCU as their respective characters after Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Much like the characters of Iron Man and Captain America, who respectively died and retired at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Jackman’s iteration of Wolverine was thought to be finished after 2017’s Logan. That film ended with Wolverine’s definitive demise, but thanks to the reliable multiverse the character will return to screens on Friday.

Feige said the return of Downey and Evans under similar circumstances “can be done” but only if “great care is taken.”

“That’s the key, right? How do you do it in a way that maintains what has come before, and in a great way?” Feige continued. “And we’ve been spending, you know, the last two-plus years figuring that out for Wolverine. So, what’s to come? We’ll see. We’re just proud that we, I think, have figured it out for Wolverine. I think Hugh’s appearance and starring role in [Deadpool & Wolverine] is a great sign that it can be done—if great care is taken.”

Feige revealed in May that he urged Jackman not to return as Wolverine because it might undo the legacy of Logan, which is widely regarded as Jackman’s best Wolverine performance and one of the very strongest X-Men installments.

Last December, Feige offered a similar appraisal of Downey’s potential return. “We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige said of Downey’s emotional Endgame death. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”

In April, Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo hammered another nail into the coffin when they called Downey’s MCU saga “a closed book.”

But box office numbers now seem to have Feige thinking otherwise, as Deadpool & Wolverine is expected to notch one of the best opening weekends of the summer. If Marvel’s first R-rated foray into the superhero realm works as well as the studio hopes, it’s not inconceivable we’d see some of our favorite Avengers return to screens, maybe even to break the fourth wall and drop a few f-bombs.

Deadpool & Wolverine is in cinemas nationwide on Friday.