Tony Stark Memorial Day; what did Robert Downey Jr. do next as today marks the death of the MCU’s Tony Stark?

October 17 2023 - a day that will live on in infamy for those who recall the great ‘snap’ that occurred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On this day, the final encounter between Earth’s defenders, The Avengers, and the army of Thanos, took place with industrialist Tony Stark sacrificing himself to undo the damage caused by the aforementioned snap. Stark was 53 at the time of his sacrifice. 

That’s what a lot of comic book and cinema fans are paying homage to anyway, as today marks the official date that Tony Stark, a role that helped Robert Downey Jr.’s road to redemption, was officially killed off in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, with it, Downey’s contract with Marvel Studios completed after his successful run with the Elon Musk inspired Iron Man.

Those who are not familiar with the MCU might have missed when ‘Iron Man’ first arrived in theatres back in 2008; helmed by Jon Favreau and featuring Terrence Howard as the original ‘War Machine’ and Jeff Bridgers as the antagonist of the feature, this was before the concept of a Marvel Cinematic Universe began; so like it or not, you have the original ‘Iron Man’ film to thank for the raft of superhero movies that followed. Personally speaking, everything lead up to ‘Avengers: End Game’ in this journalists opinion was everything we needed.

Yet there are complaints now about superhero fatigue, with dwindling box office returns for some of Marvel’s more recent attempts at creating a new cinematic universe and with it, trying and speed-run to the next multi-team event that The Avengers series led up to, upon that storylines completion in 2019 - 11 years since ‘Iron Man’ gave Disney an idea to buy out Marvel.

Perhaps the ever-astute Robert Downey Jr. saw the writing on the wall regarding superhero franchises and instead decided to delve into some other roles that were somewhat removed from his Tony Stark character. So what did RDJ do when he left the MCU - and Tony Stark died saving the planet from the Infinity Gauntlet?

What did Robert Downey Jr. do after leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Dolittle (2020)

Downey Jr.’s first role after leaving the MCU was as the titular Dr. Doolittle in Stephen Gaghan’s film of the same name. For his first role since leaving Marvel, Downey Jr. was reportedly paid $20 million USD for his involvement, given that his wife Susan Downey was one of the producers. It was always going to be a difficult leap from the MCU to his first movie role after Tony Stark was killed off - and indeed, the box office numbers and reviews demonstrated that.

‘Dolittle’ was theatrically released by Universal Pictures in the United States on January 17, 2020. Despite grossing $251.5 million globally and ranking as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2020, the movie was considered a box-office disappointment, causing Universal to incur a loss of as much as $50–100 million. The film received predominantly unfavourable reviews from critics, who specifically criticized its humour and storyline.

Sr. (2022)

RDJ proceeded to eschew script for a more personal film role in 2022, with ‘Sr.’ seeing the younger Downey recount his experiences with his father, renowned American filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr. Released on Netflix on November 18 2022, the film was a darling among film critics, with Gary Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times wrote: "Sr. proves a tender portrait and fitting tribute to an offbeat hero and creative pioneer."

The film would go on to win the National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Feature at the board’s 94th annual awards ceremony.

Oppenheimer (2023)

Sick of ‘Barbieheimer’ yet? Be that as it may, ‘Oppenheimer’ is set to become one of those films that will live on in the history of cinema, alongside ‘Barbie,’ as one of the productions that rejuvenated the theatrical experience for cinema-goers who were wary of returning to the aisles. 

RDJ played Lewis Strauss; an American government official, businessman, philanthropist, and naval officer who was one of the original members of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in 1946, and he served as the commission's chairman in the 1950s. Strauss was a major figure in the development of nuclear weapons after World War II, nuclear energy policy, and nuclear power in the United States.

Downey Jr., alongside Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt, took pay cuts to work on the film, with each earning $4 million in lieu of their usual $10–20 million upfront salary. Downey would later describe Oppenheimer as "the best film" in which he has appeared to date.

The Sympathizer (2024)

Downey Jr,’s name has been tied into a new HBO Max series set for release next year called ‘The Sympathizer,’ a historical black comedy-drama television series based on the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Downey Jr.’s role is currently listed as ‘several antagonists,’ as the actor also acts as an executive producer for the upcoming series.

The show revolves around the tale of the Captain, a North Vietnam plant embedded in the South Vietnam army during the later stages of the Vietnam War. Following his escape to the United States with his general, he settles in a community of South Vietnamese refugees. Despite his new life, he grapples with conflicting loyalties, torn between his past allegiances and present circumstances, leading him to secretly spy on the community and relay information to the Viet Cong