After pulling the franchise to its toes and making his character a global phenomenon for not just a decade but for generations, Robert Downey Jr hung his majestic titanium suit with Avengers: Endgame.
Now, it can be a hard pill to swallow, but his highly successful career as Iron Man in the MCU may just not be enough for him to lead another franchise, even with his star power.
We still can’t shake Eddie Murphy’s effortless and fantastic portrayal of a veterinarian who can speak to animals. But as he couldn’t complete the trilogy, years later we found Downey Jr willing to tackle the role.
Although the two actors worked together back in ‘99 in the film Bowfinger, it looks like Downey Jr didn’t run the idea by the original doctor as he probably would have been advised against taking up a role like that.
The Franchise That Robert Downey Jr Bombed
Dealing with substance abuse and a problematic parental relationship, the 58-year-old actor has been through some incredibly tough times in his life.
Nonetheless, he turned things around with his spontaneous and magnetic on-screen performance. He owned the role of an enigmatic editor and the world’s most capable detective in Wonder Boys and Sherlock Holmes, respectively. Though the films did average, fans appreciated his portrayal.
But Robert Downey Jr’s major regret came right after his decade-long run as the eccentric billionaire, in the film Dolittle.
The film suffered incredible losses as the critics couldn’t figure out exactly what to enjoy. The jokes were shoved down our throats and the supporting actors being CGI was a big letdown.
Robert Downey Jr Considers The Film Essential To His Career
As his upcoming Oppenheimer is ready to nuke us this month, the Zodiac actor feels that choosing a film like this opened up his eyes in a big way. He told New York Times,
“‘Dolittle’ was a two-and-a-half year wound of squandered opportunity. The stress it put on my missus as she rolled her sleeves to even make it serviceable enough to bring to market was shocking.”
The actor further explained that his advisors felt that Dolittle would be a great addition to his portfolio after his Marvel contract, but he found the silver lining after the film bombed.
“At that point I was bulletproof. I had some reservations,” he noted. “Me and my team seemed a little too excited about the deal and not quite excited enough about the merits of the execution.”
Whether we’d see Robert Downey Jr come back for the second outing is unclear, but we definitely know that he is involved in completing his Sherlock Holmes trilogy.
For now, we can’t wait for him to go up against Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer as the famous Lewis Strauss. The film opens in theatres on July 21.
Source: Looper
