If the Marvel Cinematic Universe had an elder statesman, it would have to be Robert Downey Jr. Though the actor already exited the mega-franchise years ago, he remains irrevocably linked to it after helping kick it off with 2008’s “Iron Man”.
The actor has also generally avoided the discussion of the ‘value’ of superhero films to the larger world of cinema – even as plenty of others from filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, to some of Downey Jr.’s own former co-stars have discussed the topic in interviews.
Downey Jr. of course has greatly benefitted from superhero films, they helped not only revive his career but made him one of the most in-demand stars on the planet.
Speaking to Deadline this week while promoting his new Netflix documentary “Sr.,” the actor was asked about both Tarantino’s recent comments and how some of his MCU co-stars have maligned the genre. He came up with a thoughtful response:
“I think our opinions on these matters say a lot about us. I think that we are in a time and place that I unwittingly contributed to, where IP has taken precedence over principle and personality.
But it’s a double-edged sword. A piece of IP is only as good as the human talent you get to represent it, and you can have some great IP even if it’s coming from an auteur or a national treasure of a writer-director, and if you don’t have the right kind of artist playing that role, you’ll never know how good it could have been.
I think that creatively it is a waste of time to be at war with ourselves. I think this is a time when everything is so much more fragmented now that I think you have this kind of bifurcation…and thank God for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’ That’s all I have to say. We need the big stuff to make room for films like ‘Armageddon Time.'”
He goes on to say that from his own experiences, including his most recent work alongside Christopher Nolan for “Oppenheimer” and Park Chan-wook for “The Sympathizer,” he says if more actors and filmmakers shake-up their experience and try different thing, they may think differently about slamming other people’s hard work:
“I would just say, before we cast aspersions on each other – undergo your own renaissance and see if it doesn’t change your mind a little bit. Reinvent yourself before you decide that somebody else doesn’t know what they’re doing or that something is keeping you from doing your best, or that something is better than something else.
You know, we’re in this age now where [Jon] Favreau said it best: We used to try to make waves in a lake, and now we’re just trying to catch people’s attention as things are moving by quickly in a stream. I think that’ll change again, but this is just where we’re at. And to accept it and be grateful that you get to participate is the right place to start.”
The actor will also be seen in the upcoming “Play Dirty” and has long been linked to eventually doing a third film in another franchise of his – “Sherlock Holmes”. He also serves as producer on Netflix’s “Sweet Tooth” and HBO’s “Perry Mason”.
