Robert Downey Jr. says it was time for he and and fellow MCU star Chris Evans to “retire their jerseys”
Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) — As you’ve seen in Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans are officially through with the Marvel Cinematic Universe — thanks to Tony Stark’s heroic sacrifice, and Steve Rogers’ time-traveling reunion with his love Peggy Carter.
“We had to get off. We opted to, and knew it was part of the job to get off the bus while it rolled on to other destinations,” Downey tells Disney’s D23 magazine.
The actor added of his and Evans’ final bows, “There’s something very sobering about it. I’m glad he and I will be there to welcome others as they retire their jerseys.”
Downey, who launched the MCU with 2008’s Iron Man, is humble about the legacy he leaves behind.
“Mark Ruffalo is an activist, Chris Evans is a diehard American and proponent of true democracy,” he says. “I don’t really have the gumption, the skill set, the drive, or the humility either of those guys do.”
Looking back at his time in the MCU, Downey says, “I love that I was able to witness Chris Hemsworth transition into arguably the best third act of a superhero franchise ever with Thor: Ragnarok; that I was able to get to know Tom Holland and see him grow so gracefully into this leadership position he’s in.”
He adds that he’s also glad that “[Iron Man] director Jon Favreau has outlasted me on the call sheets for the MCU; and that I’m going to fly to Boston to see Chris Evans — just ’cause I kind of need to see him.”
Downey, along with his Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Favreau — who appears in the MCU as Happy Hogan — were among 2019’s Disney Legends inductees.
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