These days, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a cinematic behemoth that's showing no signs of slowing down. The Avengers and Guardians Of The Galaxy have been transformed into billion-dollar franchises, while the likes of Rocket Raccoon, The Winter Solider, and Scarlet Witch have become household names.
As a lifelong Marvel fan, I'm not sure I ever thought I'd see the likes of Avengers Endgame on the big screen. Spider-Man teaming up with Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and more to fight off Thanos? if you'd told me this was where the MCU was headed back in 2008, I'd have laughed in your face.
Take a look at the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe below:
Of course we never would have reached this point were it not for one man: Robert Downey Jr. Back in 2008 Iron Man was, at best, a B-list Marvel hero that nobody really knew or cared about. Launching an interconnected cinematic universe on the back of this character seemed like madness on the face of it, but Downey Jr.'s one-man charm offensive helped catapult Tony Stark into the big leagues, taking the rest of The Avengers with him.
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Looking back, Marvel Studio's head honcho Kevin Feige has admitted that Downey Jr.'s casting was a big risk - probably the biggest one the company has ever taken.
"It was both the biggest risk and the most important thing in the founding of the Marvel Cinematic Universe," Feige told CinemaBlend. "Without Robert, we wouldn't be sitting here today. I really believe that.
"He was an amazing actor. Everybody knew he was amazing actor. But he hadn't been an action star. He wasn't a marquee star, necessarily. And we quickly realized the risk, I've said this before, was not casting him. And Jon Favreau really had that vision for that movie and for Robert in that role. That decision, and the success of that decision, I think empowered us with further risks and further choices."
The next Marvel movie due to release is Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, coming this September. Can Marvel take another relatively obscure character and push him to new heights? At this point, I wouldn't bet against it.
Featured Image Credit: Marvel