Marvel Cinematic Universe alum Robert Downey Jr. explained why he believed Christopher Nolan couldn’t direct The Avengers: He would take too long.
In an interview with Wired, the Iron Man star, who recently worked with Nolan on his latest film Oppenheimer, postulated how the director would approach Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. “If Christopher Nolan had directed The Avengers, we would still be shooting it,” Downey Jr. joked. The actor pins his beliefs on Nolan’s love of practical effects which stands in contrast to Marvel Studios‘ often-used digital effects.
For his part, Nolan quipped that if he had helmed The Avengers, he would have needed to reign Downey Jr. in to prevent him from stealing the spotlight. “Having worked with you on Oppenheimer, there’d probably be a lot too much of Tony Stark. You’d be running away with the movie a little bit,” the director said.
Christopher Nolan is no stranger to superheroes
While Nolan may not be behind the camera for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Avengers films The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, the Oscar-winning director is widely credited for what many believe to be the best superhero movie of all time: The Dark Knight. Despite this, he’s admitted that he has no plans to direct the Caped Crusader again, nor any other character in either Marvel or DC‘s pantheon. Nolan has stated that he believes the success of his Batman movies is down to their lengthy productions, lamenting the rapid turnaround of many modern superhero films.
As for Downey Jr., the actor largely returned to the public eye thanks to his role as Tony Stark, a part he played in nine MCU movies. He officially hung up the mechanical suit in Avengers: Endgame and has no plans on returning. Despite his claims, recent unverified rumors have placed him on the set of the upcoming Marvel movie Captain America: Brave New World.
Oppenheimer is now playing in theaters around the world.
