Fan-run campaigns are a trend: #ReleaseTheSnyderCut recently led to success – and now some Marvel fans have rented a billboard in Los Angeles to spread their call for Iron Man to be revived.
The heroic story of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is over: At the beginning of “Iron Man” the ingenious arms manufacturer and engineer discovered his conscience, in the course of the further films he overcame a war trauma and saw that superheroes are not outside the law should and finally sacrificed himself and his family happiness to save the universe in “Avengers: Endgame”. But some Marvel fans still want Tony Stark back.
A banner was spotted on a billboard in Los Angels with fans demanding the return of Tony Stark. It is explicitly about a revival (“BringBackTonyStarkToLife”), so the fans would not be satisfied with flashbacks or the like. And by explicitly mentioning “Tony Stark” it is also clear that the fans would not be satisfied if someone else stepped into the Iron Man suit.
How likely is Tony Stark’s return?
Film fans who organize themselves over the Internet are demanding a lot from the studios these days – and the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign has given further impetus. The persistent (and at least partly aggressively formulated) calls for the publication of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” led to success, although many observers would not have expected it. In this respect, a revival of Tony Stark does not appear to be completely ruled out.
However, there are some arguments against it: As described at the beginning, the story of Tony Stark alias Iron Man was brought to a round ending, which is also special because in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and in superhero comics in general – a hero does not happen very often times really dies. If Tony Stark were suddenly to be revived, viewers would have to assume that deaths in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have no meaning, as they can really be reversed in any case.
In addition, Robert Downey Jr., who rose to superstar as Iron Man, has become a very expensive actor. So he would certainly have his return gilded and it is questionable whether Disney / Marvel would be ready – especially since they will bring a number of new, unconsumed characters into position in 2021 alone with the films “Shang-Chi” and “Eternals” .
Apart from that, the signs in the MCU point to presenting a diverse, younger line-up of heroes in the future, especially in the many planned Marvel series on Disney +:
The MCU is getting younger and more feminine after “Avengers 4” – and that’s a damn good thing
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