Marvel fans concerned as Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man and other MCU characters are recast in new show

It seems Disney initially assumed they would happily take part

Marvel fans have been surprised to learn that a selection of MCU characters have been recast for a new Disney Plus series.

Upon the release of the trailer of What If...?, a new animated show, confusion abounded as viewers realised some voices they expected to hear do not actually feature in the series.

These include Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and Benicio del Toro as Guardians of the Galaxy character The Collector.

The trailer comes after Jeff Goldblum, who’ll voice The Grandmaster (the character he played in Thor: Ragnarok), seemed to confirm Downey Jr’s involvement in the show.

Goldblum told BuzzFeed in 2019 that Iron Man was in his episode, stating “so Robert Downey will do a voice”. It’s unclear whether Goldblum was misinformed or whether Downey Jr had recorded lines. However, many are assuming it was simply a scheduling issue.

Despite no direct correlation, some fans think it has something to do with Downey Jr unfollowing his MCU co-stars on Instagram earlier this week. These fans took it as a sign that the actor was severing his ties to the Marvel universe.

They have also highlighted that Disney’s official What If...? announcement claimed that Downey Jr and Evans would take part – but this increasingly seems like this may have been just an assumption on the studio’s part.

The Independent has contacted Disney and Downey Jr’s representative for comment.

Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark in ‘Iron Man 3’ (Disney Plus)

What If...? re-imagines past Marvel films with alternate plot twists. It will posthumously feature the voice work of Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther.

Boseman died in August 2020, four years after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

The series will premiere on Disney Plus on 11 August.