Tag Archives: Robert Downey Jr.

Aug 11 2024

Top Ten Cameos & Appearances In Deadpool & Wolverine…Spoilers, DUH!

By now most fans have seen Deadpool & Wolverine and enjoyed all the cameos and appearances of the characters and actors that appeared in numerous Marvel films including the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Here is a top ten list of cameos and appearances in Deadpool & Wolverine, and as a bonus there will be a mention of cameos that never materialized in the film but should have.

Obviously, there will be major spoilers in this list for anyone who hasn’t seen the film yet (What are you waiting for? It’s the best MCU film of the year! Actually, it’s the only MCU film for the year. Spend a few bucks and see this already in theaters!).

10. Thor

Thor’s brief appearance where he cradled a dying Deadpool in archival TVA footage from the future was just repurposed footage from Thor: The Dark World with Deadpool swapping out Loki.  However, it set up a gnawing mystery that was never resolved in Deadpool & Wolverine and left us wondering if this was a scene from the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars or some other film.

9. Pyro and the Evil Mutants

It was a blast seeing many of the evil mutant characters from the Fox X-Men films, which included Pyro, Toad, Juggernaut, Azazel, Psylocke and more. For the most part they were good foes and deserved to be seen again. It was also great seeing Aaron Stanford reprising his role of Pyro again, who was a scummy as ever and one of the more developed villains.

8. Elektra

Jennifer Garner’s reprisal of the assassin may not have been wanted by those who hated the Fox Daredevil and Elektra films. Yet, her strong performance and off-color remark about Daredevil (once portrayed by Garner’s ex-husband, Ben Affleck) being killed, not only gave her character credibility, but provided some mischievous meta humor.

7. The Deadpool Corps

For a film that is about the main character jumping around the multiverse, it was only natural that he would encounter outlandish versions of himself. And this film certainly did not disappoint us. From Lady Deadpool to Kidpool, to Dogpool and Nicepool, the Deadpool variants were hysterical and imaginative. It’s guaranteed that we’ll be pausing the scenes when all the Deadpool variants appear together whenever the film hits home media.

6. The Hulk

The green giant made a quick appearance during Deadpool’s visit to a timeline where the events of The Incredible Hulk #181 (the debut appearance of Wolverine for you non-fans) were taking place. Sadly, we did not get to see the epic throwdown between Hulk and Wolverine, but it was a tantalizing tease. Maybe this can happen in Avengers: Secret Wars? We fans can only hope.

5. X-23

Having Dafne Keen reprise her role as a now-adult X-23 was an appropriate way to follow up Logan and reunited her with Hugh Jackman. The two actors have a natural chemistry and their scenes together provided Wolverine with needed emotional growth and a means to embrace his humanity. Keen was also such a kick-ass when she ripped those evil mutants apart later in the film.

4. Gambit

Channing Tatum was thisclose to having his own Gambit solo film before the project was canned during the time when Disney acquired the rights to the Fox X-Men films. It was a passion project for the actor and thankfully Deadpool & Wolverine gave him the chance to show off how awesome he would’ve been as the Cajun mutant, who was comic book-accurate down to his thick Cajun accent. Remember it!

3. Wesley Snipes as Blade!

The original Blade is back, baby! With all the behind-the-scenes headaches in trying to reboot Blade for the MCU, having Wesley Snipes return as Blade was a great surprise and a fitting tribute to the actor. After all, his films ushered in the modern Marvel films and his appearance has now sparked calls for Marvel Studios to forego the character’s recasting with Mahershala Ali and allow Snipes to reclaim the role for future MCU films.  

2. Cavillerine!

Henry Cavill’s brief appearance as Wolverine was the most unexpected cameo in the film and the best Wolverine variant to appear (though the comic book-accurate Wolverine was hysterical). Not only did it allow fans to see someone else credibly play Logan, but it was a well-deserved middle finger to Warner Bros. for the way they mistreated the actor during the entire DCEU debacle.

1. Chris Evans…as the Human Torch!

The funniest and most out-of-left-field appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine was Chris Evans who did not reprise his role as Captain America, as Deadpool and many audiences expected, but as the Human Torch from the Fox Fantastic Four films. The way he was introduced was misleading and ingenious, and a nice call back to those films. Evans’ appearance also contributed some of the best laughs in the film, especially the line by Deadpool that the actor was too expensive to keep around for too long, hence his untimely death.

The Unrealized Cameos

Given the fact that Deadpool & Wolverine deals with the multiverse, the possibilities of variant characters were endless. Unfortunately, the realities of filmmaking precluded some possible cameos and appearances, some of which were planned but never materialized.

The Avengers

Aside from archival footage at the TVA we never see the team appear, much less have them interact with Deadpool. At one point, this was supposed to happen but the logistics of gathering the actors together was too much.

Robert Downey, Jr.

He was supposed to appear in the scene were Deadpool visits the MCU timeline and tries to get a job with the Avengers. But unfortunately, the actor turned down the opportunity and then wowed us when it was revealed that he would portray Dr. Doom, later on.

Ghost Rider

Speaking of actors who turned down the chance to reprise previous Marvel roles, Nicolas Cage was asked to appear as Ghost Rider. The actor was approached with the opportunity but for reasons unknown he passed on the offer. Blame the crappy Ghost Rider films.

Spider-Man

As much fun as it would have been to have Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire to appear in Deadpool & Wolverine the fact that the film rights of Spider-Man are owned by Sony pretty much nipped that idea. They’ll probably appear in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Alternate Castings

Tom Cruise as Iron Man? How about Daniel Radcliffe or Tom Hardy as Wolverine? Sorry, these variants do not appear in the film nor was there any indication that this was considered. But given how busy Deadpool & Wolverine with its cameos, appearances, references and Easter eggs, it is probably for the best that these additional cameos did not happen.

José Soto

Aug 3 2024

The Return Of Robert Downey, Jr. To The MCU…As Doctor Doom!

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage at the Marvel Studios Panel during 2024 Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center on July 27, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Marvel Studios, as usual, figuratively exploded fans’ minds last weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con with their announcements of their upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films. But the biggest jaw-dropping revelation at Hall H was that MCU mainstay Robert Downey, Jr. would return to the MCU in the next Avengers film as Marvel Comics’ most infamous villain Doctor Doom.

As wild and flabbergasted fans were when the announcement first came out, it was inevitable that questions and second guessing followed soon after the announcement. People wondered if this was the best casting decision and if it meant that Marvel Studios was desperate to rekindle the excitement and attention the MCU had just a few years ago during its heyday.

Marvel Studios couldn’t find an actor qualified enough to play Doctor Doom? Did it have to be Robert Downey, Jr.? Let’s be clear here, Downey is a gifted actor, he’s so great he even won an Oscar for his work in Oppenheimer, and he is the face of the MCU because of his portrayal as Tony Stark/Iron Man, which put the MCU on the map to greatness. But there are many other actors who could’ve easily portrayed the villain. Some have complained that the casting is lazy, unless if some reports are true about Doom’s identity in the upcoming MCU films.

Doctor Doom is traditionally, Victor Von Doom, the armored, despotic ruler of the fictional Eastern European country Latveria, who became a bitter rival to the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards. Now, Downey was introduced as Von Doom by Marvel Studios, but there are rumors that the actor will actually play an evil variant of Tony Stark from another reality, in fact it will be the same universe where the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in. This makes a lot of sense and circumvents the complaints by fans about how the other characters in the films are ignoring the fact that Doom looks just like Stark. Otherwise, if he plays Von Doom, then that will raise questions from viewers, which will take them out of the film.

In the recent comic books, Stark has become Dr. Doom and vice versa because the two characters are very similar to one another. So, there is precedent for this to occur. Maybe, in the MCU timeline, Stark came into existence earlier in the Fantastic Four’s universe and did not have the same redeeming experiences that the MCU Stark had and became evil but shares the same goal as the MCU Stark had: to protect the Earth using armor. During his Comic-Con appearance, Downey did say “New mask, same task,” which implies that he will play a variant of Stark.

If this pans out, it will be an ingenious way to bring the actor back to the MCU and allow him and the screenwriters to do something different with the character. It can work and it probably will. But many will be disappointed that the traditional Victor Von Doom with the same backstory from the comic books won’t be in the MCU. However, people should not give up hope.

Marvel Studios probably decided to bring back Downey because of his star power and the twist that will guarantee that people will rush to theaters to see Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, while the actor will excel as Doctor Doom, it’s doubtful he will play the villain in the long term. He is being paid a hefty amount to appear in these films and it will be hard for the studio to afford his paycheck forever. What could happen is that Doctor Doom will get killed off in Avengers: Secret Wars and be replaced by another variant i.e. another actor. This variant could possibly appear in a post-credits scene and be introduced as the MCU version of Doom, who will be Victor Von Doom with the comics-accurate backstory. Going forward, this new version of Doom, portrayed by a different actor, will be the go-to MCU version of Doctor Doom that the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the other MCU heroes will contend with.  

Whatever develops with Doctor Doom, Downey’s casting brought much-needed publicity and excitement for the MCU. Surely, once we see him in his green robes and armor, we can pass final judgment, which will most likely be very favorable.

May 14 2013

In Defense of Iron Men & Mandarins

 Iron Man

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following will contain major SPOILERS about Iron Man 3. If you haven’t seen the film and don’t want to learn what happens, do not read anymore!

Despite the somewhat mixed reaction to Iron Man 3, the reviews still remained on the positive. I know our fellow Starloggers colleague José Soto enjoyed the film. But there is a vocal base out there of people who loathe Iron Man 3, including our one of our other colleagues Jim McLernon. Much of that dislike has to do with some perceived flaws with the film and the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley).

iron armorsWe’ll be the first to admit that a minor quibble has to do with the high-speed action near the end of Iron Man 3.  At that point, Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Iron Patriot/James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) have a final confrontation with the main villain Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) at an oil tanker. Needing help against the super-powered Killian and his Extremis army, Stark calls for back up and a cavalry of remote controlled Iron Man armors arrive. We don’t really get enough time within the dizzying action sequences to view these great Iron Man armors. Sure, we’ll see it in toy stores and production stills, but for a moment, the final fight suffered the same syndrome that plagued Transformers 2–too much blurry metal and things happening so fast that it was hard to follow which armor was which. The final battle takes place at night, so that doesn’t help either.

The rest of the film had clear storytelling and it was great to watch. Shane Black co-wrote and directed this entry with guidance from producer Kevin Feige and original director Jon Farvreau. Iron Man 3 is a solid entry in the Marvel movie universe. Better than the second film and about as enjoyable as the first one.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????We liked how Marvel is treating this film as a conclusion of sorts, yet leaves an opening for future films–hopefully with Robert Downey, Jr. (RDJ), who for many people is Tony Stark. Along with him, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cheadle, and Favreau perform at their expected best and are able to walk that fine line between action, comedy and drama. Pearce and James Badge Dale as the heat-based villain Eric Savin are terrific new additions to the cast and standout as villains. But RDJ carried the film. Just as Christopher Reeve personified Superman perfectly, so does RDJ as Iron Man. His character is suffering from the events of The Avengers and we see the personal impact that those events created on a person. RDJ showed a vulnerability that hasn’t been seen before. It was refreshing and made him more human and identifiable.

The final minutes of Iron Man 3 seemed like a conclusion to a larger story arc about Stark’s life and to the film trilogy. Iron buddiesIt seems as if Stark is done with being Iron Man, he’s purged his inner hang ups (and his armors), grown and no longer has the need to use the armors as crutches. But he concludes his narration by stating “I am Iron Man”,  so hopefully Marvel and RDJ can reach an agreement for him to reprise the role. After all the end credits do reveal that Tony Stark will return.

We liked how this Iron Man film is very self contained without any Avengers appearing during the film (emphasis on the word during :D), yet the film expands on the general Marvel movie universe that Iron Man gets involved with. We see competitor industries like A.I.M. (Killian’s company) and Roxxon, two villainous corporate entities seen in the comic books.

Now on to the Mandarin. His role in the film is very controversial. Supposedly he is considered to be the main Iron Man villain in the comic books but bringing that character to the big screen is problematic.

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In the comic books, he is this Chinese warlord who possesses ten alien rings with different kinds of powers and was created in a less politically correct time. The Mandarin as he is in the comic books is considered to be a negative stereotypical portrayal of Asians. To bring that character into a big budget film would have created a public relations firestorm. There isn’t any way in today’s climate where the U.S. owes China so much money and seems largely content with being indebted to that nation, will a stereotype like the  Mandarin appear on film. Putting politics aside, the film studios will lose a ton of revenue in Asia if they used the traditional Mandarin super villain. Family-friendly Disney (Marvel’s owner) want to expand their appeal with China, not close it. The creative minds at Disney/Marvel wouldn’t allow the Mandarin to be portrayed as in the comic books, so the Mandarin had to be politically correct.

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Black and the producers made an acceptable alternative. They had it that the Mandarin was just a British actor hired by Killian to portray a super terrorist. The Mandarin would claim credit for Killian’s terror attacks and Killian gets to manipulate the public and gain more control behind the scenes. In effect, Killian is the Mandarin; he even claims at one point that he is that person.

The bottom line is that the Mandarin doesn’t exist in this film. But honestly, he isn’t a famous villain like Dr. Doom or the Joker so drastically changing the villain wouldn’t turn off the general public. It was a calculated risk that the people behind Iron Man 3 took. We think it was a rather brilliant and daring plot twist but it turned off some vocal fans. That is understandable but they have to be realistic and for now this is the best solution.

But enough with this controversy. Iron Man 3 is still a joyous and energetic film thanks to its many merits. And the recent box office receipts confirm that the appealing combo of Iron Man and RDJ continues to be invincible.

GEO and Waldermann Rivera