Ironheart Casting Kills Hopes Of Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man Return

screenrant.com:

Ironheart is the perfect opportunity to bring Robert Downey Jr. back as Tony Stark, but casting details for the show indicate he won't return. Audiences only saw Iron Man die in Avengers: Endgame a few years ago, but it didn't take long for theories to pop up suggesting different ways he could return. The announcement of Ironheart in late 2020 fueled that possibility, as Tony Stark plays a key role in Riri Williams' superhero story. However, it continues to look unlikely that the Disney+ show will include Robert Downey Jr.

The biggest theory about Downey's Iron Man return in Ironheart came as the result of Tony Stark becoming Riri's A.I. in the comics. The artificial version of Stark was Riri's equivalent of JARVIS early on, although it also included a holographic component. Since Avengers: Endgame used a hologram Tony for his eulogy, it seemed the Marvel Cinematic Universe already was laying the groundwork for this possibility. Importantly, this could bring Downey back to the MCU without undoing Iron Man's death. Despite Ironheart and the A.I. Tony storyline potentially serving as the perfect opportunity for Downey to return, the show has now cast This Is Us actress Lyric Ross as Riri's best friend. It might not seem like the two roles would have anything to do with each other at first, but it does point to Ironheart not utilizing A.I. Tony Stark and Robert Downey Jr.'s talents.

Related: The MCU Has Two Big Opportunities To Bring Back RDJ's Iron Man

Although Lyric Ross' role wasn't named when it was announced, the description of her playing Riri Williams' best friend points to her being Natalie Washington. Natalie was Riri's best friend from the ages of 10-13 until she tragically died as the victim of a drive-by