Marvel founder remembers Robert Downey Jr. as 'Iron Man' objections

Former Marvel chief David Maisel revealed he fought for Robert Downey Jr. to play Iron Man after his name generated strong opposition because of his past struggles.

During an interview with The New Yorker, the founder of Marvel said, "My board thought I was crazy to put the future of the company in the hands of an addict. I helped them understand how great he was for the role. We all had confidence that he was clean and would stay clean."

Earlir, director Jon Favreau also disclosed that the Sherlock Holmes star was considered for another Marvel role before Iron Man.

“I remember you had all met with him Downey already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project,” said The Mandalorian creator told THR.

Favreau added, “I think he had come through on like maybe Fantastic Four, so everybody sorts of knew who he was.”

The director added after the actor audition things started to change.

“Once it was him, that’s when my life got a lot easier because he understood the voice of the character,” said Favreau.

He continued, “And then one by one, people were just signing on board because now it became something interesting.”