The role of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man was a life-changing experience for Robert Downey Jr. The role not only helped put him back on the map and made him filthy rich, but it also made him the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I can rave about how much I love him as Iron Man, but now that his character is dead in the MCU, it leaves us fans with one question: what’s next for Robert Downey Jr.? Oh, and I don’t consider that a spoiler alert. Avengers: Endgame has been out for two years now. If you haven’t seen it, just shame on you. Seriously, it’s the greatest superhero movie ever.
Now as for Robert Downey Jr., I think everyone will agree that Iron Man was his biggest role. And no, don’t expect him to be making a return anytime soon. You know what? That’s honestly for the best. He spent a lot of time playing the character, he built a legacy, and now the MCU will live on because of it. I’d really like to know who will be the next big face of the MCU, but RDJ left some pretty big shoes to fill. I love talking about theories regarding the MCU, but I’m more curious about Robert Downey Jr.’s future.
Well, he did take a serious dip right after Avengers: Endgame. Have you seen Dolittle? I actually haven’t and I don’t really intend to. It’s a good thing I listened to the reviews before I nearly wasted money on that movie. Boy, does it pain me to see my guy go from his best movie in his career, right to his worst one. But don’t fret just yet, RDJ fans. I’d like to think of Dolittle as a slight bump in the road. I predict it won’t be long before our former Iron Man finds another role that suits him well.
Now here’s where things get interesting. If you’re a fan of the MCU and Star Wars, guess what? There have been some hot rumors floating around the internet suggesting that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are in talks with Robert Downey Jr. to have a part in their Star Wars universe. When I say “their” Star Wars universe, I really mean The Mandalorian continuity. Yes, I think most Star Wars fans would consider that the real Star Wars continuity and not that of the sequels. That’s fair enough. I’d say Favreau and Filoni have earned it.
The origins of these rumors are a bit sketchy, but I remember reading it from multiple sites a week ago and I was immediately intrigued. I actually didn’t find it absurd, due to Jon Favreau’s past working relationship with Robert Downey Jr. back in their MCU days. I think we all need to be extremely grateful to Jon Favreau. Not only did he give us The Mandalorian, but he fought for RDJ’s casting for Tony Stark in the first Iron Man. If it weren’t for him, the MCU might not be the same as we know it.
So let’s just say that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni did talk with Robert Downey Jr. about a Star Wars role. What kind of role could he possibly play? Well, the rumors also mention that as well. And guess what? It’s for a very popular fan-favorite character. He’s a character that originated from Timothy Zhan’s novels and became a beloved character ever since. Oh, and he also has blue skin and dark red eyes.
That’s right Star Wars fans, Robert Downey Jr. is apparently in talks to play Grand Admiral Thrawn. Whoa, now that is some very exciting news. First of all, who wouldn’t want Robert Downey Jr. in Star Wars? Honestly, I think pretty much anyone would. However, they aren’t so evidently enthusiastic about him playing Grand Admiral Thrawn. I’ve been seeing mixed reactions about the idea of him playing the character on Twitter. To put it simple, some fans would be up for it, while others think he’d be a terrible choice for Thrawn. I even recently saw some fan art of RDJ in the form of Thrawn. I must say, as unusual as it was, I actually dug it.
This is a lot to process. Just remember that these rumors are all still just rumors. Nothing is set in stone just yet, but let’s just entertain the idea for now. Let’s ask ourselves the big question: is Robert Downey Jr. a good choice to play Grand Admiral Thrawn. I’ll just say that I’m a colossal RDJ fan. He gave us one of the greatest superhero performances ever and he’s a phenomenal comedy actor. Seriously, how can anyone forget about Tropic Thunder?
The important part about that statement was the “comedy actor”. Most of the time we see Robert Downey Jr., he’s typically playing the funny guy. From Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, to Tropic Thunder, to Due Date, and even to Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, RDJ excels at playing the funny guy. That’s really the problem that the naysayers have with him being considered for Thrawn. Now I do understand the skepticism. The man is widely known for playing mostly comedic characters with sarcastic wits and he’s always so good at it. The problem is, Grand Admiral Thrawn is anything but funny.
People fell in love with Thrawn because he’s a cold, calculating, no-nonsense, stoic military commander. He isn’t known for cracking jokes and when he does say something relatively funny, it’s more boasting about how he can study his enemies. He’s unlike any other character Robert Downey Jr. has every played before, so why should he be the one to play him?
If you’re not familiar with Robert Downey Jr.’s career outside of the MCU, you might not have seen his performance as Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 film Chaplin. Now yes, he was playing a real-life silent film actor who was great at comedy. However, what amazed me about his performance as Chaplin was that he was able to capture the more serious aspects of his personality as well as his comedic ones. The life of Charlie Chaplin was controversial and we got to see RDJ act it out beautifully. He was great when he was playing him as the silent actor, but he was even better when he was playing him outside of his career. Heck, it was good enough to earn him an Oscar nomination.
The point is, Robert Downey Jr. is capable of breaking his Tony Stark-like persona. He is good at being funny, but he’s amazing at playing the serious guy too. Now Thrawn is also a villain and RDJ has little experience playing villains. The only ones I remember are U.S. Marshals and Shaggy Dog. He wasn’t exactly the most memorable villain in those movies, but then again, neither of those movies were too memorable. They were enjoyable movies, but those aren’t the movies we think of when RDJ’s name pops up. Still, he played those parts well and made those movies watchable.
So he doesn’t play villains too often, but so what? What matters is that Robert Downey Jr. is a truly versatile actor and his whole career actually proves it. He deserves to move on properly from the MCU and get past Dolittle. If he does end up playing Grand Admiral Thrawn, it’ll be a good chance for him to expand his acting chops. After what we’ve seen in the MCU, I’d say he’s earned the chance.
So what say you, Star Wars fans? Are you yay or nay for RDJ playing Grand Admiral Thrawn? You know what? If he doesn’t play Thrawn, he can play some alien who makes Mando or Ahsoka laugh. Either way, I’ll be happy if he joins Star Wars. Marvel and Star Wars under his belt? Now that’s a legacy.
Follow Us
