Christopher Nolan reportedly wants Robert Downey Jr for his next film, but his casting in Avengers: Doomsday could cause scheduling problems.
The cast list for Christopher Nolan’s next film is one of the most impressive ensembles we’ve seen for some time, with each new reveal adding another lauded Hollywood actor. Charlize Theron was the latest movie star to join a list that already contains the likes of Robert Pattinson, Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway, with Lupita Nyong’o and Zendaya taking on supporting roles.
According to a new report, there’s one more spot to fill on the film’s roster of talent, but Nolan may find himself in the unfamiliar position of being rebuffed. That’s because the British filmmaker reportedly wants to work with Robert Downey Jr again after their collaboration on Oppenheimer saw them both pick up Oscars.
According to Daniel Richtman (via CBM), however, Nolan may not get his man because of Downey’s commitment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor has signed up to play Doctor Doom in the upcoming crossover film Avengers: Doomsday and as the title suggests, he’s important to the film.
Richtman adds that as the title character, not only is Downey in almost every scene, but given that each film’s release is only two months apart (Avengers in May 2026, Nolan’s untitled film in July 2026) the schedules overlap, meaning that as it stands, the actor wouldn’t be able to shoot them concurrently.
Could this yet be resolved? Might Downey suddenly decide that his Doctor Doom character needs to spend far more time behind the character’s trademark mask which would just happen to free up his days a little? We’re joking, of course, but the actor does wield a tremendous amount of power at Marvel Studios. If anybody on the cast list can get things juggled around, it would be him.
Hopefully it all gets sorted soon so we can all get on with finding out what Nolan’s next film is actually about, because the suspense is really doing a number on us.
We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
