Robert Downey Jr. Calls MCU’s Newest Star While Celebrating 17 Years of the Franchise
Robert Downey Jr. is celebrating a big moment for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s been 17 years since the MCU began, and now, to mark the release of the new Ironheart series, Downey shared a sweet video call with the star of the show, Dominique Thorne.
Even though Downey has moved on from playing Tony Stark and is now taking on the role of Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, he’s still deeply connected to the Marvel world. He made time to show love and support for Thorne, who’s leading the next big thing in the franchise.
The video was posted on both Robert Downey Jr.’s and Marvel Studios’ Instagram pages. It shows a casual and friendly call between Downey and Thorne. At the start, Downey brings up the date, saying:
“Good morning. Guess why I’m calling? It’s June 24th, which is…”
Thorne immediately smiles and replies:
“It’s dad’s birthday. Happy birthday, yeah.”
Downey laughs and adds, “My dad’s birthday, thanks for your consideration. Also, God, you’ve been doing too much press. ‘Ironheart’ premieres today! It’s all been leading to this, isn’t that exciting?”
Thorne is clearly moved by the call, replying, “Oh, my God. Thank you, thank you for the call.”
Downey then reflects on the journey of the MCU and how proud he is of her. He says,
“17 years from the birth of the MCU to the premiere of ‘Ironheart,’ and we’re in this love together. So psyched. I’ve grown so fond of you, it’s bananas. Congratulations, I’ll be watching it with the world, and we’ll keep each other posted, yeah.”
Thorne, smiling wide, replies, “Oh my god, ok, yes, we will.”
And Downey ends it with some real hype, saying, “‘Ironheart,’ let’s go!”
Even though he’s not in the Ironheart show, Downey’s character Tony Stark has always had a big influence on Riri Williams, the young genius played by Thorne. Their stories are closely tied together in the MCU, especially since Riri first showed up in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Downey has shown support for Dominique Thorne before, but this time he’s really putting the spotlight on her as Ironheart finally makes its debut.
The new series focuses on Riri’s solo journey as a superhero, continuing from where we last saw her. She’s at MIT, working on her tech and eventually returning to Chicago. The show also stars Anthony Ramos and Alden Ehrenreich, and it’s produced by Ryan Coogler.
This moment, shared between a veteran Marvel star and the franchise’s newest lead, shows just how connected the Marvel family still is after all these years.
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