As has been the case ever since the credits rolled on Iron Man 15 years ago, it’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. as the inimitable Tony Stark, which is probably why it’s incredibly likely that the Marvel Cinematic Universe won’t even dare to consider a variant of the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist showing up at any point during the Multiverse Saga.
Things could have been very different had the initial front-runner ended up landing the part, though, with Timothy Olyphant heavily rumored to be the leading contender after director Jon Favreau struggled to convince the upstart Marvel Studios that RDJ was a risk worth taking given his history.
The Justified star is famed for shooting from the hip – best illustrated when he admitted Hitman was “a piece of sh*t” he starred in because he’d just bought a house and Deadwood had been cancelled – so you’ve got to take him at his word when he claimed to The Playlist he doesn’t dwell on what might have been.
“I can only tell you that I remember thinking that was the first time where, because I’m a bit of a slow learner and I think I was scared to death of the things that come with success in this business, but that was the time where I remember thinking, ‘Well, I can’t get any more grounded and so this would be fun. I think prior to that I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t want those kinds of problems.’ And I think part of that appeal was those conversations that I had with Favreau – I just have a tremendous amount of respect for him and I just like the guy. He’s just a good dude.”
And so, if you’re going to go down that road, you’re not going to find anyone better to go down it with, so I have fond memories of that experience, you know? I try to see things simply for what they are and not what they could be and any conversations I had with Jon about that job and about that process, I remember it very fondly. It was an enjoyable process…And, well, he’s the one who hired me for [The Mandalorian], so he doesn’t owe me anything.”
Olyphant unquestionably has the charm, swagger, charisma, and twinkle in his eye to play Tony Stark, but it would be a very different version from the one who spent a decade cementing himself as a cinematic icon.