It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a wildly popular franchise, spanning both TV and film. But it all began with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, which served as Robert Downey Jr.’s professional comeback. RDJ starred in eight Marvel movies (in addition to cameos) before Tony Stark was killed in Avengers: Endgame and his tenure ended. Some fans are hoping that he returns to the role, although it seems that the Oppenheimer actor has retired from crime fighting for good. Regardless, I can’t stop watching this deepfake of Robert Downey Jr. watching Marvel movies in the year 2030.
RDJ spent over ten years playing Iron Man in the MCU, so he definitely deserves a hard-earned rest from the shared universe. It’s unclear how much he’s been keeping up with the shared universe, which has been going through tons of changes since he stepped away. A viral video on Instagram poked fun at this, with an AI-generated Robert Downey Jr. reacting as every type of IP imaginable is added to the final battle of Avengers: Endgame. Check it out below:
I honestly can’t look away. Between the deepfake of Robert Downey Jr. and the bonkers footage that he’s reacting to, it’s truly an embarrassment of riches. Let’s break down what’s going on in this social media clip.
The above video comes to us from the Instagram of a popular account titled unreal_downeyjr9. It’s got a whopping 261k follower, thanks to various deepfake videos of RDJ. It’s unclear how the actor himself feels about the account, especially as the subject of AI has been such a hot-button issue within the industry. But some of them are rather convincing.
What is less convincing is the bonkers video that this faux Robert Downey Jr. is watching in this clip. The video is from the final battle in Avengers: Endgame, where the entire shared universe’s heroes unite for one final stand against Thanos and his forces. They famously charge at Thanos all at once, but this variation on the clip features even more wild characters. Icons from Arrow, The Lord of the Rings, and more quickly begin appearing. Then there’s the Batplane and Millenium Falcon, who help provide air support. Even Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow pops up, which is the cherry on top.
While it’s only been a few years since Tony Stark wielded the Infinity Stones and snapped Thanos out of existence for good, Marvel fans are already hoping that RDJ returns to the role of Iron Man sometime in the future. And with both time travel and the multiverse in play, it seems like just about anything could happen at this point.
The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is The Marvels on November 10th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.