Hollywood starlet Robert Downey Jr. laid down the gauntlet for the rest of the Avengers when he kick-started Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008 with Iron Man.
The movie was a massive success and became the foundation for the forthcoming MCU movies. But as they say all good things come to an end, Robert Downey’s reign as the metal crusader too is nearing an end as he has hinted at quitting the Marvel franchise.
The 52-year old has appeared in seven of their movies so far, including the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, but feels he must hang up his boots before its gets “embarrassing”.
He says, “I just never want to blow it for the last six-seven (MCU movies) I have done by dropping the ball because I decided to go do it one more time. I just want to hang up my jersey before it gets embarrassing.”
With the two part Avengers: Infinity War still in the pipeline, Downey’s future beyond those movies hangs by the balance. So while we can still see him donning his armour a couple of more times, his days look numbered.
However, he aims to bow out on a high and also ensure MCU’s continued success even without him. “It’s like with a team if you are going to hang up your jersey, you want to make sure the team is in good shape and can still compete at a high level,” he adds.
Downey has had an instrumental role in taking the Marvel franchise to the heights it has scaled today and his departure will no doubt leave a gaping hole in MCU that will be too huge to fill.