Robert Downey Jr. Auditioned for Another Marvel Role Before Booking 'Iron Man,' Jon Favreau Reveals What He Was Up For

Robert Downey Jr. is so linked to the role of Iron Man that it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing the mouthy hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

However, someone else might have landed the role had the 58-year-old actor booked the first Marvel gig that he auditioned for.

Iron Man director Jon Favreau revealed that Robert was considered for another role before ultimately getting cast during a recent interview.

Read more about the Marvel role Robert Downey Jr. was considered for…

While reflecting on the 15th anniversary of Iron Man, Jon explained that the casting team was already familiar with Robert.

“I remember you had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project,” he recalled, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I think he had come through on like maybe Fantastic Four, so everybody sort of knew who he was.”

Julian McMahon landed the part of the villain in the 2005 version of Fantastic Four. Interestingly, the movie featured another MCU favorite – Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. Of course, Chris later became Captain America.

The movie also starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis.

While Robert wasn’t right for Fantastic Four, Jon instantly saw his “spark” when he screen tested for Iron Man.

“Once it was him, that’s when my life got a lot easier because he understood the voice of the character,” he added. “And then one by one, people were just signing on board because now it became something interesting.”

Another MCU star who was perfectly cast in his role recently revealed that they also auditioned for several roles in the universe before getting cast.

Meanwhile, Tom Cruise addressed rumors that he was close to landing Robert‘s MCU role.